The Survivors Reunion
by Lastdragonborn274
Summary: The survivors of the worlds bio-terrorism decide to get together for a reunion, but two things happen that no one expected. A romance bloomed between a sarcastic ex-cop and a stunning redhead, and a terrorist attack in Portugal. All that's left to wonder is whether or not they'll survive.
1. The Reunion

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

At the turn of the century the world birthed the true survivors of the modern world. Some of the bravest men and women of the world were introduced the the harshest disaster the world had to offer, the zombie apocalypse. In 1998, a specially trained part of the Raccoon City police department, known as S.T.A.R.S. had been trapped within a mansion filled with zombies and other monsters of a similar nature. While some of the people trapped within the mansion perished, those that survived went on to save the world.

Not long after the mansion incident that befell the S.T.A.R.S. members, a city wide zombie virus infested the town of Raccoon City, where the motorcycle loving Claire Redfield had met the rookie cop Leon Kennedy. The two had to fight through legions of the undead, and groups of genetically engineered monsters known as B.O.W.'s. The pair had escaped Raccoon City accompanied by a little girl by the name of Sherry Birkin who had seen her father, mutated by his own creation, becoming more monster than human. Though their experience together was short, the adventure alone had built a bond of trust so strong that a weapon made by God himself could not break it.

Chris Redfield, one of the original S.T.A.R.S. members had brought to life a global anti-terrorism group known as the BSAA, destined to save the world from biological terror attacks. His sister, Claire had taken the less dangerous approach and joined the group known as TerraSave. Claire eventually introduced Chris to Leon after Leon had told Chris that Claire was in trouble on Rockfort Island. Chris thanked Leon for all he had done for his sister back in Raccoon City and for helping him find her on the island. Claire and Leon had regularly kept in touch while the two of them weren't busy in one way or another, often trying to get together at times and be with Sherry.

The heroes of this century, though always busy, and never without fresh wounds always tried and come in contact with the others, and when possible try to get everyone together. To everyone's delight, they were all somehow free for several days, though one terrorist attack could end those free days. Everyone had decided to try and get together at Leon's luxury apartment.

Leon was waiting in the empty living room for one of the guests to arrive, eagerly getting up when he heard a knock on the door. As he looked through the peephole he saw Sherry alongside a familiar mercenary. He opened the door and was greeted by a hug from his adopted daughter. "Hey there, shorty." He said merrily.

Sherry let go of him, rolled her eyes and said, "Come on, Leon. I'm not that short."

"What do you mean? You still seem like the little girl that Claire and I found in Raccoon." The two shared a laugh and he invited her in, before his attention to Jake. "Hey, kid. Heard you turned down 50 million bucks. Now, I'm not mercenary, but that doesn't seem good for your financial income."

Jake let out a quick laugh and rubbed his chin and said, "Yeah, but I think I got something a lot better, or at least I will." as he looked over Leon's shoulder to see Sherry observing the hotel room.

Leon looked at him and smirked. He put his hand on the younger man's shoulder and said, "Just make sure that you never hurt her and we'll be fine."

Jake looked at Leon with a smug face. "Oh, you think I should be scared of you?" he said with a joking tone.

The blonde shook his head. "No, it's not me that you're going to have to worry about. It'll be her mother who you have to look out for."

Jake smiled at Leon's comment and walked into the Penthouse and observed his surroundings alongside Sherry. Not too long after the newest survivor, Chris Redfield and his wife Jill had arrived, holding two bottles of wine for the Secret Service agent. When Leon had opened the door, Chris greeted him, "Leon! How've you been, you shrimp dick son of a bitch?!" followed by the two gripping each other by the forearm.

"Not bad, you muscle brained testicle tickler." Leon replied with a hearty laugh.

As the two men laughed at their reunion, Jill shook her head at her husband's stupidity and walked up to their host, wrapping one of her arms around his neck. "Hi, Leon. Thanks so much for inviting us."

Leon returned the hug. "I'm happy you could make it, just make sure Chris doesn't take any of his roids while he's here." he said loud and clear so Chris could hear him.

Chris placed his hand around Jill and flexed his other arm. "It's ok to admit that you're jealous of my muscles, Leon."

The two men laughed while Jill said, "You know, Chris it's fine that you workout so much to compensate for bedroom prowess." As Leon began to laugh at Chris, Jill looked at him. "And Leon, it's fine that you're so ugly that you couldn't pay a hooker enough to sleep with you. The two of you are both special little snowflakes."

The two men laughed even harder and as they walked in, and uncorked one of the wine bottles, passing glasses out to the people currently present. Leon quickly turned on a sports game to cancel out any type of awkward silence between the group since all of their social skills were rather dull given their line of work. Jill and Sherry were talking at the kitchen counter while Jake, Leon, and Chris were talking, surrounding the T.V. Jake pointed to Chris' cheek and said, "Sorry about that by the way."

Chris touched his cheek and thought back to when Jake had decided to spare his life. "It's fine. You had a right to do worse, I suppose."

"Do you mind telling me what your personal reason was for killing Wesker?" He asked.

Leon sipped his wine and looked at Jake. "You've really never heard about Wesker, have you?"

Jake shrugged. "Man, I was raised with a sick mother. We made so little money that we considered half a loaf of bread a blessing from God. She never spoke about my father since we had to put everything on survival."

Chris set down his wine on a table and explained everything that had happened with Wesker and the S.T.A.R.S. team. Jake just listened with a stoic look on his face. As Chris finished his story, Jake finally spoke, saying, "God. That's...a rough story. If I had known about everything that he had done, I wouldn't have even considered shooting you."

"I'll make you a deal. From what Sherry told me, you can play the piano really well, so the next time I want to surprise Jill, I'll have you play a nice song for us to dance to." Chris extended his hand, waiting for Jake to complete the unwritten contract.

Jake grabbed Chris' hand firmly and said, "Deal." with a smirk on his face.

A knock was heard on the door, and Leon made his way over to open. He was greeted by a woman with familiar auburn hair. Claire Redfield, the deadly and beautiful woman that Leon was lucky enough to call his best friend. Claire wrapped one of her arms around Leon and released him to show him the 20 pack of Corona that she had bought the night before. "Hey, Leon. It's nice to see you after so long."

"Oh, please. You only miss my beautiful chest." he said while pretending to bounce the imaginary breasts that dawned his chest.

"Oh, baby, you know all I care about is your personality and your smarts." she said, matching his sarcasm.

Leon smiled and grabbed the beers from her hand while saying, "Typical matriarchal sexism." As Leon allowed Claire inside he announced to the guests, "Everyone, put down your wine, and drink a beer like a normal person."

Jill looked to her husband and said, "I told, you that beer would be a better choice as a gift."

As Sherry made eye contact with Claire, the two women ran up to each other, embracing the other in a large hug. "Oh, my baby girl, all grown up!" Claire yelled as she took joy in seeing her daughter. When Leon opened the beer, he went over to Claire and Sherry and wrapped his arms around the two of them.

Sherry, though ecstatic to see the two in the same place, was starting to struggle in order to get out of Leon and Claire's death hug. When they finally released Sherry, the two women went off to catch up, while Leon walked over to Jake and said, "That is the woman that you have to look out for if you hurt Sherry."

Jake smiled and looked to Leon. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, right?"

"No, hell hath no fury like Claire Redfield protecting Sherry Birkin." Leon said, feigning fear. After a shared chuckle between the two men, Leon announced that he'd start making dinner now.

"Wait, you can cook, Leon?" asked Sherry.

"Yes, I can cook. Contrary to popular belief but I'm not drowning in a sea of women every night, hence the need to actually know how to cook." Leon said as he pulled several fresh steaks from his fridge.

Leon made his way out onto the balcony, overlooking the city where he had his barbeque. Leon fired up the grill and started cooking the steaks. Claire walked onto the large balcony and took in the scenery. As the scent of the steaks reached her nose she walked over to Leon and placed her chin on his shoulder and said, " Hey, Leon. Where are the steaks for everyone else? I only see the ones that are for me." Her voice, filled with jest.

Leon chuckled and turned around and said, "Sorry, Claire, but I regret to inform you that you only get one steak today. If you want more then you'll either have to turn into a zombie or find a man who's pockets are deep enough to feed your steak addiction."

Claire placed one hand on her chest and put on expression of shocked insult. "First of all, I'm a steak enthusiast."

Leon smiled and just said, "Mhm, and I can't charm the pants off of a woman within ten minutes."

"Last time I checked, you never managed to pull that off on me." Claire, said trying to one up Leon.

"True, but I just flirt with you like a friend, I don't try and charm you. So what is your second point to make about your steak addiction." Leon said, turning his attention back to the steaks.

Claire sighed and said, "My second point is that your pockets are deep enough to feed my steak _enthusiasm_." Claire put extra emphasis on the word enthusiasm.

"I don't think there are enough cows in the U.S. to satisfy your love of steak."

"We won't know if we don't try."

Leon finished the steaks and brought them inside on a large platter. Everyone took their seats and grabbed some new wine glasses. Before they began eating Leon stood at the end of the table and made a small speech. "As you all know, we have all been through some type of hell. Each of us united in the fact that we are the survivors of terrorism and even though we have all suffered losses, it's our job to survive so that we can make a better tomorrow possible."

The survivors all raised their glasses and drank in honor of the fallen. The group began eating and making small talk with the others. Chris mentioned that Leon's partner wasn't here to which Leon informed him that Helena was on assignment at the moment. Eventually Jake looked over to Claire and asked, "So you're Super Girl's mother?"

Claire smiled and asked, "Super Girl?"

Sherry groaned and said, "He's been calling me that ever since he saw my ability to heal rapidly." Sherry drew her attention to Jake now and said, "And no, Claire isn't my mother. She and Leon were just my role models growing up."

"I feel the need to disagree with you, Sherry. Leon and I helped raise you when we weren't busy trying to save the world." Claire said, futilely trying to convince Sherry.

"Yeah, but in my opinion since the two of you don't do anything that real parents do, I think I should only call you my role models." She said with a smug grin on her face. The girl did see them as her parents, but always loved to see if they could get her to admit that they were.

Leon looked to Claire at the other end of the table and said, "Claire, maybe we should tell her." His voice full of suggestion.

Claire looked at Leon and saw what he was up to and decided to play along. "Well, she is older now…"

Sherry went wide eyed and Chris almost choked on his steak. Sherry placed her face in her palms and said, "Oh, dear God please don't let this happen." Her voice filled with angst.

"Sherry, you have to understand that it was after Raccoon City. We had just survived hell. We wanted to make sure that everything that we went through was real." Claire said in a calming voice.

Sherry began shaking her head and just saying, "No no no no no no no no." over and over again.

Leon looked at Sherry and slyly said, "Well if you don't see us as your parents then this shouldn't really bother you."

Sherry caught on to what they were doing and yelled out, "Ok, ok fine! I see you as my parents! Just please shut up!"

The table erupted in laughter, all except Sherry taking part in the fun of Leon and Claire's little prank. Chris was still coughing after nearly choking when he thought that Leon and Claire were serious.

Dinner went smoothly from then on. Each of the survivors trading stories about everything that happened to them over the years. When Sherry and Jake were leaving Claire and Leon suggested that they all go to dinner one day so that they could catch up more about their personal lives rather than their professional lives. They all agreed and as sherry was about to walk out, Leon said, "Thankfully we can be honest with you now."

Sherry let out a long groan and Leon got a hard punch in the shoulder from Claire. "We've teased her enough for today." Sherry hugged Claire and thanked her for shutting Leon up. "Of course, sweetheart. We'll tell you everything that we left out when we get dinner."

Sherry pushed Claire off of her and said, "Why do you two love torturing me so much?"

Leon hugged Sherry one more time and said, "Because we're assholes, who love torturing our _daughter_." Leon drew attention to the word daughter.

Sherry left and said "Love you guys." as the door closed.

As Leon and Claire made their way back to the living room Leon asked, "Are we gonna keep teasing her with this?"

"Oh, most definitely." Claire said as she picked up her beer.

"Hey, Leon. You _we're_ joking when you said that you and Claire had a moment, right?" Chris said, wanting to make sure that the two had never been together.

"Do you really think that I'd say that Claire and I had sex in front of a roid freak like you?"

"Just wanted to make sure I didn't have to puke later."

Jill set her wine glass down and said, "Well, we have to get going. We've got to fly down to Washington tomorrow."

Claire hugged Leon and said, "Great! Now Leon and I can continue where we left off during Raccoon."

Chris pretended to vomit behind Leon's couch, causing a laugh to surface from the group. Chris and Jill left Leon's hotel room, leaving Leon and Claire together. Claire grabbed another beer and sat down on Leon's couch, turning the T.V. on. Leon joined her and asked, "So how was the steak?"

"Oh, it was horrible! That's why I ate it in under a minute." The two friends laughed and continued watching T.V.

"So you want to continue where we left off, eh?" Leon said with a smirk creeping up on his face.

"You can't continue something that never started, Kennedy." Claire said with a smug tone.

"Like you didn't want me." Leon said as he took another sip from his beer.

"Me? Want you? Please. You were the one who was fantasizing about getting into my shorts."

"Claire, I am a gentleman. I would never do such a thing." Leon said, donning a posh voice.

"Sure, and I'm not a bombshell of a woman."

"Apparently not." Leon retorted, stifling a laugh.

Claire laughed and just said, "Screw you." not being able to come up with a better counter.

"Right here? On the couch? The bed is much more comfortable."

Claire quickly jumped up and sat on Leon's lap. "Woah! Claire, what are you doing?" Leon asked, bewildered. Claire cupped Leon's face and brought her face closer to his, their lips inches from each other's. "Claire?" he whispered, softly.

Claire brought her lips to Leon's ear and whispered, "I'm just being a tease." Claire started laughing and jumped off of Leon.

Leon's face was as red as a rose, and his breathing was left ragged. "Oh, you bitch."

Claire burst out laughing. "Sorry, but Leon jr. ain't coming out to play tonight." Claire said, pointing to Leon's lower half.

"I feel like my heart is beating out of my chest."

"Sorry, but I had to one up you somehow." Claire said as she took another sip of her beer.

"That's not one upping me. That's just plain wrong."

Claire set down her beer and moved closer to Leon again. "Do you want me to make it right?" She asked seductively.

"No thanks. I'd prefer to live."

The two friends laughed and continued watching T.V. until Claire had to leave. On her way out Leon couldn't help but think about what would have happened if Claire wasn't joking around earlier. As soon as he closed the door he sighed and said, "Maybe one day I'll be lucky enough to have someone like her." Leon was telling the truth earlier when he said that he wasn't drowning in a sea of women. He didn't care for promiscuity and was often caught with his thoughts drifting towards what might have been had he not become an agent, and more than once, his thoughts had turned to Claire. She was beautiful, smart, and deadly. Only thing was that she was too perfect. If he had wanted, Leon probably could have gotten her into a bed with him after Raccoon, but if something were to happen between the two of them, he wanted it to be real, not because they happened to survive the zombie apocalypse and wanted to celebrate.


	2. Catching Up

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Only a day had passed since the survivors visited Leon's place. Leon was currently in bed, trying to make the most of his vacation when he heard a knock at the door. He grabbed his 1911 from under his pillow and quietly made his way to the door. When he looked through the peephole he could see the ex mercenary, Jake Muller. Leon put his gun in the back of his waistband and opened the door. "Jake? What are you doing here?"

Jake was nervous, though he didn't show it. Jake often showed discomfort by remaining stoic. "Hey, Leon. Look, I wanted to ask you some things about Sherry."

Leon sighed and moved out of the way, granting Jake access to his home. Leon knew what Jake was going to ask him. The unresolved romantic tension was apparent when the two had visited. To the best of his knowledge, Jake and Sherry had never done anything relating to sex or even kissing. The two men took a seat across from each other at the dining room table. "So what do you want to know?"

"I just want to start things off by telling you that I-"

"You're serious about my daughter and you want to be with her, yada yada yada." Leon said, trying to skip over the awkward bits of the conversation "Listen, Jake, I love Sherry as much as I would if she were my own daughter, but I don't have control over who she wants to be with. I look into your eyes and I see a man who's been through more than most can fathom. I know that you're a good kid so you don't have to worry about how I feel about you two being together."

"There goes the speech I rehearsed so much on the way over here." The two men chuckled, breaking the tension that flooded the room. "I want to know more about what she likes. What her idea of a good time is and all that."

Leon nodded. "Sherry is pretty docile. After Raccoon, the government took her in so she was raised in an environment that wasn't very kid friendly. As she grew up, she didn't have the same experiences as other girls. She didn't go to high school. She didn't have any contact with people her own age. If you want to give her a good time then do something that gives her companionship. Take her out for dinner or go dancing. Something like that will be fine."

Jake gave a sly smile to himself. "It's that simple, huh?" Jake couldn't hold back a smirk. It was simple, but not easy. It would still take him some time to talk Sherry into going out with him. At least he knew Leon was cool with him going out with Sherry. "Thanks Leon." Jake sat up from the table and started walking to the door.

Leon just stayed at the table and said, "Anytime kid. Just remember what I told you about hurting Sherry."

"Yeah yeah, ' _hell hath no fury like Claire Redfield protecting Sherry Birkin_.'" Jake lifted his hand, both as sign of understanding and as sign of goodbye as made his way to the door.

Leon chuckled and said, "Exactly." He couldn't help but smirk at the intentions that the younger man had with his daughter. He knew Jake would make Sherry more than happy. After Jake left, Leon thought about the previous night and what happened with Claire.

As hard as it was to admit, Leon had thought of Claire fondly that night. While he laid in bed, thoughts of his red haired friend had erupted. He thought of how things might have ended up if Claire hadn't been joking; of what might have happened if he woke up with her in his arms. Leon lived a lonely life. His social life consisted of his fellow survivors, Hunnigan, and anyone he was partnered with. He hadn't been in a serious relationship with a woman for the past several years. The closest he ever got with anyone was flirting with a random woman that he passed by on the street. Last night had made him happy. Thinking about Claire and how she made him feel made him happy. Leon didn't really know what it meant though. Was it just a small fantasy that he found pleasure in thinking about or was it something deeper? A sigh left his lips. He didn't know the answer to his questions and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know. One thing was for sure though. Leon had been happy last night. Most nights he laid in his bed while empty thoughts ran through his mind, but last night, as he thought of Claire, he was happy.

Leon grabbed his cell phone and looked at Claire's number, debating whether or not he should call her. He pressed the call button and anxiously waited for her to pick up. "Hey Leon. I was just about to call you." She said with a type of uncomfortability.

"You were?" Leon asked, surprised

"Yeah. Look, I wanted to apologize about what happened last night. I acted a little inappropriate and I wanted to make sure that we're cool."

"Claire, we survived Raccoon City together. Do you really think that I'm going to get mad at you because you tried to live out your fantasies about us." Leon joked, but in all truth, he was nervous. He was subconsciously hoping that Claire wouldn't say something like that she didn't feel that way about him.

He heard a laugh on the other side of the phone. "Leon, did you hit your head? You're talking like a crazy person." The two laughed until Claire finally asked, "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

Leon felt a lump in his throat. "I wanted to know if you wanted to go out to dinner tonight. I know that we had dinner last night with everyone, but we didn't have a chance to really catch up so I wanted to get you alone for a little bit."

"So what you're saying is that you want me all to yourself? You know greed is a sin, right," she said teasingly.

"Alright. I was just trying to be nice. I was gonna take you to your favorite steakhouse, but since I'm just some sinful bastard, I'll just go with someone else."

"Did I say greed was a sin? I meant that greed is a very endearing quality, and you are incredibly nice to offer me such a good time."

The two laughed until Leon finally spoke up. "Alright then. Pick you up at seven?"

"Sounds good. Bring all of your money."

"One steak, max"

"You're no fun."

"I disagree. I'm plenty of fun, and you might have seen how fun I am if you weren't playing around last night."

Leon showed up to Claire's door in his signature leather jacket. He knocked on the door and awaited Claire's answer. When she opened the door, Leon observed her apparel. The redhead was wearing jeans and a plain black t-shirt. Nothing extravagant, but even so, breathtakingly beautiful. "Like what you see, Leon?"

Leon smirked and said, "What is there to see? All I see is my cruel best friend who thinks it's fun to play around with my emotions."

Claire punched Leon's shoulder. "Come on, you big baby. I was just messing with you."

Leon kept on faking his heart break. "I know, but to mess with such a gentle and sensitive heart is cruel beyond words."

"As much as I'd like to continue this session of no-so-witty banter, I'd prefer to leave so that we can eat."

Leon quickly performed a courteous bow before he said, "Right this way, malady. Your chariot awaits."

"If you keep acting like this I'm gonna make you wish that you never came out of Raccoon City." Claire said with synthetic annoyance.

"If you feel that way, then maybe I should just give our reservation to Jake and Sherry. At least they'll appreciate my generosity."

"Fine. Give it to them." Claire gave Leon a hug and whispered in his ear, "Then we can get straight to the fun part."

"You are one cruel woman."

"And yet you love me anyways."

The two ceased their battle of verbal abuse and made their way to the restaurant. When they arrived, they found the floor of the restaurant littered with peanut shells. They found it hard to believe that the floor was cleaned everyday and still managed to look like a sea peanuts by the end of the day. Leon walked to the front desk and said, "Kennedy for two."

The woman checked the computer and said, "Right this way, sir."

The woman lead the two to a booth and gave them the traditional small basket of steaming hot bread rolls with butter. Leon tore into the bread rolls, not waiting for them to cool down. He looked to his redheaded companion and said, "You know, I could come here just for the rolls."

Claire smiled happily at him. "I have an idea then. You give me your steak and then you can just eat the bread."

"Not on your life, Redfield." The two looked at their menus and ordered their food.

While they waited for their meals, the two conversed about the normal parts of their lives, but they soon ran out of topics. Given their occupation, they had little to talk about when it came to their normal lives. They eventually began telling stories of their lives before Raccoon. Even though the two had heard each story more than once, it was always nice to talk about things that didn't involve a walking corpse. Before their meals even arrived, Claire spotted two familiar people come through the door. She quickly poked Leon's arm, urging him to look towards the door. Leon turned his head to see Jake and Sherry talking to the waitress at the front desk. Claire looked back to Leon and asked, "Why do you think they're here?"

"Well, you see Claire, when a man and a woman love each other very much, they-"

"Quit being a smart ass."

"Jake came by my place this morning to ask me about Sherry. He wanted to know more about what she likes. I'm just surprised that the kid made his move this fast."

"Should we stay out of sight?"

"I think we should do more than that." Leon took out his wallet and left a hundred dollar bill on the table. "Once the two of them are seated, let's get out of here. If Sherry sees us, she'll want to talk to us, and I'd prefer to make sure that Jake's plan can go without any complications."

Claire giggled and said, "You really define the saying 'bros before hoes' Leon."

Leon smiled and kept watch on the younger couple, waiting for the perfect time to leave. As soon as Jake and Sherry were out of sight, Leon stood up, with Claire following him to the exit. As soon as the two of them made it to Leon's car, Claire asked, "Now what are we gonna do? I'm still hungry."

"I don't know. What do you want to do?"

"How about we go back to my place and order a pizza?"

"Works for me." Leon started the car and began driving back to Claire's house.

While they drove back, Claire ordered a pizza for delivery. Once they entered the house, Leon took off his jacket and set it down on one of the chairs. "I'm not gonna lie, Leon. I'm shocked that you can live without that jacket on." She chuckled.

"I can but only for a few minutes. If I don't wear it after a while I'll suffocate."

Claire put on the TV and switched the channel to a sitcom. The two sat down on the couch, awaiting their pizza. Once the doorbell rang, Claire stood up, paid the pizza boy, and brought the pizza inside for the two of them to enjoy along with a few beers from her fridge. The two of them conversed more about their lives while they ate. Several hours had passed and the moon rose high in the sky. The two sat at the kitchen counter, both slightly inebriated, still trying to talk about normal, everyday things, which was boring Leon to death. Curious about Claire's opinion, he decided to get back to the previous night. "You know I'm still mad about last night."

"Oh really? What can I do to make it up to you?" Claire asked.

"Why don't you surprise me." A notorious smirk popped onto his lips.

Claire pondered what to do for a short moment, eventually coming up with a solution to the problem. "I've got it." She said with confidence.

"Oh?"

"Close your eyes."

Leon hesitated for a moment, debating with himself whether he should trust his friend or not. He eventually accepted Claire's request and closed his eyes. A few seconds passed and he felt a sweet sensation on his lips. Claire was kissing him. His eyes shot open at the sudden realization. He unknowingly pushed her away in shock. "Claire, I-"

Claire silenced him as she kissed him once more. This time Leon sank into the kiss. He pulled her in closer, running his hand up her back and through her hair. Thoughts were racing through both of their minds yet neither of them paid any notice to them. The kiss became more deep as the two of them continued through the storm of passion that enveloped them. Leon suddenly heard a ring from his back pocket. He grabbed his phone by instinct and answered without thinking of the current situation. "Kennedy." He answered the phone with his breath exhausted. Hunnigan was on the other line, informing Leon of a mission that he had been selected for. Leon halted his response as his mind processed the full gravity of the situation. Shakily, he answered, "Alright. I'll be there soon." Leon hung up the phone and saw Claire looking to him with worried eyes. "I, uh, I have to go."

Claire pursed her lips awkwardly. "Yeah. We'll talk later, yeah?" She said trying to play off what they had just shared.

"Yeah. Claire, I-"

Claire held up her hand, letting Leon know that he should stop talking. "It was just a mistake, right?"

Leon took a deep breath. He wanted to say that it was the best thing that he ever did but he knew that he couldn't afford to do something like that at the moment. Though it pained him to do so, he replied, "Yeah. Just a mistake that anyone could make." Leon grabbed his jacket and walked out of Claire's house. On his way out, he struggled to not punch the wall in frustration. "Goddamnit, Kennedy." He said to himself angrily.

Claire watched Leon drive away from a window. As she lost sight of him, a single tear crept down her face. "Just a mistake." She told herself. "Just a stupid mistake."

 **Hey guys sorry for how long it took for me to finish writing this chapter. I'd like to give my thanks to Xaori for editing this fic. She's responsible for the more elegant phrasing such as "** Nothing extravagant, but even so, breathtakingly beautiful." **. She has a fic called "** Just Friends" **that you guys should check out if you haven't yet. I'll try and update another chapter soon, but I make no promises about when.**


	3. Vendetta

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **FINALLY! IT IS HERE! Sorry for the delay guys, but it's summer so I do nothing besides being lazy. Thank you all for reading, it really means a lot to me that you guys slog through my work. Special thanks to Xaori for helping me edit, you're amazing! Go read her fic, Just Friends if you haven't yet.**

 **In case it wasn't obvious from the title of the chapter, this takes place after The new movie, Vendetta. Some of you read the first chapter and thought that Chris wouldn't be comfortable with Leon sleeping with Claire so let me clarify. Leon and Chris are best friends in this fic and I speak as an older brother when I say that if my best friend was sleeping with my younger sister, I'd be pissed. Not so much for the fact that they are doing that, but more that they never told me for years. Also, Chris wasn't angry or anything like that, he was a little grossed out, as any man would be with the sudden thought of his little sister sleeping with another man, let alone his best friend. In case you didn't see the update, I changed Leon's hotel penthouse to a luxury apartment. Don't like it? Too bad. NOW GET THE GOOD WHISKEY!**

While Leon and Chris sat in the BSAA vertibird, only one thought came to Leon's mind. He thought about Claire. When Chris had shown up at that bar in the Colorado Rockies, he lied about the reason he was drinking. He was distraught about his squad's death in D.C, but Claire occupied his mind for every waking moment of the day. He knew he screwed things up with her. After what had happened there was no way that they could go back to being just friends, but given their occupation there was also no way that they could be together. Chris and Jill were both in the BSAA so at least they could see each other at work when the other wasn't home, but Leon and Claire were completely different. The two worked different jobs and neither were home for most of the year.

Once he had boots on the ground, Leon called Hunnigan so he could get some private transportation. He needed to get back home and talk to Claire. He was trying to avoid the inevitable while he drowned his sorrows in the Rockies, but now he knew that he had to face her. He still wasn't sure about what his feelings for Claire were, but he knew that he cared for her. He -may have even loved her. After several hours on a government jet, Leon finally made it back home. He had arranged for a vehicle to be waiting for him at the airport. As he walked out into the parking lot he saw a familiar woman leaning against a black Toyota Camry. He smiled as a brief chuckle left his lips. He walked up the woman and said, "Hey, Helena."

"Leon. Another successful mission from what I hear."

"Yeah."

"I may have only known you for a brief time, but I know you well enough to know that you don't just go home after a mission is done."

"I have something to get back to this time."

"Ada?" Helena asked inquisitively.

"No. An old friend."

Helena smiled. "Come on. I'll take you home or do you want to go straight to this 'old friend's' house?"

"Take me home. I gotta get some sleep and prepare myself for everything. "

Helena got into the car and said, "Yes, sir."

Leon chuckled and got into the car. The ride to Leon's house was filled mostly with classic rock and the two agents debating who the best band was. When they finally arrived, Leon got out of the car and thanked Helena for the ride. Before he left her car she said to him, "Listen Leon, I don't know who this old friend is, but I can tell you care about her. Just remember that whatever happens won't be the end of the world."

"Believe me, I know what the end of the world looks like."

Helena laughed as she recalled her adventure with Leon. "Yeah, I guess you do. Take care Leon." Helena drove off and Leon walked into his house. Leon breathed in the cool air and listened as his ears were met with complete silence. His favorite part of coming home was the silence and lack of the smell of blood or rotting flesh. He slipped off his jacket and threw it on top of his couch as he made his way to the bedroom. As he collapsed on his bed, Leon took in a deep breath and let sleep take over him.

When he woke up the next morning, Leon jumped into the shower, got ready, and just as he was about to leave for Claire's house, he heard a knock at the door. Leon quietly grabbed his gun and walked to the door. "Who is it?" He asked.

"It's me…." Claire said from the other side of the door. Leon holstered his weapon and opened immediately.

"Hey…." His words lingered as the two of them gazed upon the other. "How'd you know I was here?"

"Chris told me about your guys' mission. I wanted to talk to you before you left for another one."

"I was actually getting ready to come see you, but uh… why don't you come inside."

"Thanks." She said as she walked into Leon's house.

"Can I get you anything?"

"No, I think this would all go smoother if we just ripped it off like a band-aid."

Leon's heart rose to his throat as he heard her words. Usually Claire spoke with her emotions, but now she was much more distant. "Leon, I think we should keep everything how it was before….everything."

Leon felt his heart skip a beat when Claire said this. "Claire I-I don't want things to go back to the way they were."

"What?" Claire's response was instantaneous. She was truly shocked by his response.

Leon walked up to Claire and took her hands. "Claire, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since that night. I know that if we were to have a relationship, it'd be hell. We'd hardly ever see each other, and either of us could be dead the next minute, but I don't want to miss out on this opportunity and wonder what might have been."

Claire was speechless. In truth, she didn't know what she wanted. Being with Leon would be great, but she didn't think that she could handle it if she one day got a call and heard that he was killed. If she were to hear that before everything between them had happened, she would have been distraught, but if they were to be together, she would be an absolute wreck. She never heard of Leon taking home women, or at least not from anyone credible. Though they never spoke of it, she always knew that Leon distanced himself from people so that he could avoid the types of things that she was afraid of. "Leon.."

"Claire. I know that what we do is dangerous. I know that one of us could be dead in the next minute, but I don't care. I want to at least try. I want to try to be with you." Leon leaned down and kissed Claire.

She sank deeply into the kiss, but pulled away from it a moment later and cupped his face. "You're a real ass hat, you know that?"

Leon chuckled. "Yeah, I know.

Leon leaned in one more time, but before their lips could make contact, Claire stopped him. "I need you to know something first. If you get yourself killed, I'm gonna kick your ass."

Leon laughed and kissed her again. "Ditto." Leon leaned down to kiss her one more time before a knock at the door was heard.

Claire whispered into his ear, "I don't suppose we could ignore that, can we?"

"Not in my line of work." Leon grabbed the butt of his gun and approached the door and looked through the peephole only to see Sherry and Jake. "What are you two doing here?" he asked happily as he opened the door.

Sherry saw Leon and gave him a hug. "Hey Leon, I'm so glad we caught you. I wanted to talk to Claire, but it seems that she wasn't home."

Claire cut Sherry off as she made her way into the door frame. "Sherry, I do have a cell phone. You can always call me."

Sherry was shocked as she saw her mother. She moved in quickly and gave Claire a quick hug. "I know, but you know that I prefer being able to talk to you guys in person whenever it's possible for us."

Claire sighed and gave a simple, "I know."

"Either way, I'm happy that I could catch both of you. I'm setting out on a mission soon and I was wondering if we could have that family dinner we were planning on."

"I just got off from a mission with Chris so I should have at least 3 hours until I'm called on another one," Leon said sarcastically. The group all shared a laugh and Leon continued. "In all seriousness though, we should try and get this through ASAP. One jackass decides to make a new virus and we're all back to work."

"Agreed," said Sherry. "How about we have dinner tomorrow night at Bern's Steakhouse. How's 7:30 sound?"

The group all agreed with the time and location. With all of that settled, Sherry and Jake started walking back to their car. As soon as they were out of their range of hearing, Leon asked, "Tell her at dinner tomorrow?"

"Definitely."

"Want to go back inside and continue where we left off?"

"Thought you'd never ask." As soon as Sherry and Jake drove off, the new couple closed the door sank into their kiss once more.

 **If you guys are hoping for a lemon chapter then forget it. Not because I don't feel comfortable writing one, but because I am 10,000% sure that I wouldn't be able to write a good one. Also, Bern's steak house is an actual 5 star restaurant. Never been there myself, but it looks very nice. Google it. I COMMAND YOU!**

 **P.S. Sorry for all the weird shit that I'm typing in all caps. Sheogorath, the Daedric prince of madness from the elder scrolls series keeps coming up in my mind for whatever reason. When this happens, I feel compelled to talk like our favorite irish accented crazy uncle. Also, this fic is actually my second fic that I've written so far. My first fic is one for Skyrim and I plan on publishing it once I'm done writing it. It will be the whole story from beginning to end including all DLC's with some minor and sometimes major alterations in story. It will be over 100k words. It currently has +70K words so if you like Skyrim, make sure to check up with me in like a year or something. Not sure when I'll publish it but it WON'T be soon. Also, I will have my dragonborn end up with Serana, just in case anyone was wondering. Anyway, sorry for this long note. Again, Thank you all for reading my fic, it means a lot and I'll update the next chapter in at least a month, but it will probably be longer than that.**


	4. The Reveal

**Disclaimer: I own nothing…. EXCEPT FOR THE CHEESE! Goddamn it Sheogorath get out of my head!**

The next morning, Leon woke up with Claire sleeping peacefully, her arms holding onto him comfortably. Leon took in a deep breath and looked to the heavens, mouthing the words, "Thank you." Leon looked to the window, seeing the sun light up his room as if it was a movie. This moment was one of the few times that he could consider himself completely happy. No other worries occupying his mind. No thoughts about how his life was before Raccoon City.

Claire began to shift as she opened her eyes to meet Leon's. "I am so glad I didn't dream all of that." she said happily.

"You and me both." Leon planted a small kiss on her lips and proceeded to get out of bed.

"Where do you think you're going, Kennedy?" Claire asked seductively.

"To the kitchen to make some breakfast. Unless you're not feeling all that hungry." Leon said with a devious grin.

Claire spoke as if she was royalty. "No. I need energy. Go and prepare a feast for me, peasant!".

Leon made an elegant bow and said, "Anything for you, milady." as he backed out of the room. After a delicious breakfast, the two debated over watching tv or going on a walk, eventually settling on watching tv given that they saw enough of the outside world when they were at work.

Meanwhile on the other side of town, another home held two exuberant occupants. Sherry Birkin and Jake Muller had spent almost every day together since they had reunited with the other survivors. Neither had truly made any large strides in terms of their relationship. That is, until last night.

The day before Leon's return, Jake and Sherry had been out at dinner. The two tried trading the few stories that they had that didn't involve a gun, walking corpse, or anything that was included in their job description. When the two of them had finally returned to Sherry's house, they stood in the doorway. An awkward silence drifted over them as neither of them really wanted to say goodbye. Jake finally said, "Well I guess I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

"Wait…" Sherry looked through her mind for an excuse for her words. She finally found one. A poor, idiotic, and overall ridiculous excuse, but an excuse nonetheless. "There is this really weird thing that my tv does when I'm home and it's really annoying. Do you think that you may be able to fix it if you see it happen yourself."

Jake saw through Sherry's lie, but didn't care. Neither of them really felt comfortable asking the other to stay the night. He smiled. "Yeah, I think I can help you out." Jake walked in and Sherry led him to the couch, turning on the tv and sitting apart from each other. Eventually Sherry began easing her way towards Jake. As she got close enough, Sherry began to rest her head on his shoulder and Jake wrapped his arm around her.

As time passed, the two eventually found themselves on the couch with Sherry lin between Jake's legs, her head resting on his chest. By the time midnight had struck, Sherry was fast asleep. Jake noticed that she had fallen asleep nearly a half-hour earlier. He carefully grabbed the remote off the floor and turned off the tv. Jake had managed to learn a thing or two when he was still a mercenary. One of the skills he acquired was being able to get out from under a sleeping woman without waking her. Once he had finally gotten out from under her, he carefully picked her up bridal style.

Her head rested against his chest as he carried her to the bedroom. Once he had carefully laid her down on the bed, Jake kneeled by her bedside. He delicately placed a small kiss on the forehead of the sleeping woman in front of him. "Since I know you won't hear this, I've got something to tell you. Sherry Birkin, I love you with all my heart. You are the first thing I think of when I wake up and the last thing I think of when I go to sleep. Actually you're pretty much on my mind the entire day." Jake stood up and left her room, turning off the light and shutting the door. What he had not noticed as he left was a smile creeping up on Sherry's face.

As Jake was getting ready to fall asleep on Sherry's couch he heard her bedroom door open. He turned around to see Sherry quickly approaching him. "Hey did I wake you when I closed the do-" His words were silenced as Sherry stole a kiss from the mercenary.

"I love you too."

Jake looked at Sherry completely dumbstruck. "You-you heard me?" he asked somewhat embarrassed but more than anything, surprised.

"Every word."

"Were you just pretending to be asleep the entire time?"

"Maybe." Sherry said deviously.

"You little minx." He said happily as he planted a kiss on her lips.

"You love me so you'll forgive me." Sherry said with a sly tone.

"Where did you even come up with an idea like that?" He asked her.

"I take after my father a little bit."

"Leon sure is one clever bastard."

"Do me a favor and take me to the bedroom again. If you do it, I'll give you a reward."

"And what might that award be?"

"You'll find out soon enough. IF you take me to my room that is."

Jake gave her a kiss and picked her up again. "My pleasure."

"It will be." Sherry said seductively.

After the two had woken up the next morning they had got up and planned to tell Leon and Claire about their new two were more active than Leon and Claire were that day, making the most of their time together.

As the next day came, each of the couples began preparing for the ensuing dinner. Leon and Claire had met Sherry and Jake at the restaurant, each couple eager to tell the other their exciting news but for different reasons. Sherry and Jake were just happy to be together while Leon and Claire were eager to mortify their daughter.

When the group was seated Sherry spoke up. "So I want to say something. Two things actually. Firstly, I lied about having to set out on a mission soon. I wanted to get you two out so I could tell you something, which leads me to my second point. Jake and I are together." She said excitedly.

Leon and Claire looked at each other. "Were you not already?" Claire asked. "I mean I really thought that you two had bumped uglies a while ago."

Leon started to laugh at Claire's candor. Leon looked towards Jake and gave him a subtle congratulatory nod. Jake responded with the same gesture. "Claire and I actually have something to tell you as well."

Sherry figured that they would try to play the same prank again, but for the sake of curiosity she asked what is was that Leon was talking about.

Leon and Claire joined hands and said, "We're together now too."

Sherry just chuckled and said, "Yeah sure. Look, you're not gonna get me again."

"Told you she wouldn't believe us." said Claire.

"Let's prove it to her."

"I like the way you think."

Leon pulled Claire into a deep, passionate kiss, forcing Sherry to groan loudly. "Oh, fuck me!" she said. "How long?" She asked, dreadfully.

"Nothing special, but definitely above average." Claire said. Leon was drinking at the time and as her words reached his ear, he immediately choked on his water.

"EW! I meant how long has this been going on!" Sherry said, attempting not to yell.

"I know what you meant.' Claire said, bluntly.

"You two are horrible parents."

"You love us." Leon said smugly.

"Shut up."

"It happened the day after the reunion. We got together and then Redfield got a little tipsy." As Leon finished his sentence, Claire punched him in the arm. "Ow! Ok, fine. She was full on drunk." Earning him another punch. "Ok, ok. Long story short is at the end of the night we shared a kiss. I had to leave for a mission after that and when I got back we continued where we left off." Leon and Claire joined their hands together. Jake looked to Leon and gave him another nod. Leon nodded his head in response.

The rest of dinner was normal, or as normal as it could be with this group. They traded stories from their missions and each left the restaurant happily. Before leaving, each said goodbye to the other.

When Leon and Claire arrived at Leon's house, they began kissing each other in a storm of passion. "I love you so much." Leon said, happily.

"I know, and I love you so much more." said Claire.

Leon smiled and continued kissing Claire. He backed down for a moment and held her hands. "How am I so lucky to have someone like you?"

"You can thank Umbrella. Chances are if it wasn't for Raccoon, we wouldn't have even met."

"I guess those evil bastards were good for something."

"I guess they were. Now shut up and kiss me again."

"As you command." Leon said happily.

Leon kissed Claire deeply again and the two began making their way to the bedroom.


	5. The New Mission

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Claire woke up in bed, cradled in Leon's arms. She closed her eyes again and breathed deeply. "Don't think I've ever slept better." She quietly said to herself.

A faint chuckle was heard from Leon. "There wasn't that much sleeping last night."

"I didn't know you were awake."

"I've been awake for a little while. Just wanted to rest with you for a little while."

Claire gave Leon a small kiss. "I can't blame you. I'm pretty damn perfect."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. _I'm_ the perfect one." Leon held Claire a bit closer.

"I beg to differ. I'm clearly better than you."

As Leon was about to respond, both of their phones began to ring. As if they were in sync, the two rolled out of bed, grabbing their phones and spoke their last names. Neither of their conversations lasted long. Leon stood from the bed and grabbed his jeans. Claire turned to him. "Let me guess, outbreak in Portugal?"

"Yep. I'm being shipped out with the BSAA. I'm supposed to be part of Chris' team."

Claire began putting on her clothes. "Don't tell him about us then. I'm sure that he'll be fine with it, but the last thing that either of you need is to be distant from each other on a mission."

"Noted." Was all Leon said as he grabbed a leather jacket from his closet. "You gonna be anywhere near the action?" Leon asked with concern in his voice.

"No, I'll be in the refugee camps, making sure that everyone is tended to."

"Make sure to search everyone for bites."

"No shit Sherlock." Claire said in an insulting manner.

Once they were ready, the two began driving, Claire to the airport, and Leon to a military airfield. When Leon made it to the airfield, he saw Chris getting out of a jeep. He pulled his car into the spot next to Chris' and got out. "Redfield." Leon greeted.

"Kennedy." Chris returned. Though they were the best of friends, Leon and Chris were like different people when they were on a mission. They were the epitome of professionalism. "What details do you have?"

"All I know is that there's an outbreak in Portugal and I'm supposed to be on your team."

"Perfect. For the time being, we're going in blind." Chris said in an annoyed manner.

"I take it you aren't giving the mission brief." Leon said as he grabbed his 1911 from his holster, inspecting the weapon.

"Nope. That would be the job of my old CO. Let's hope he knows more than us." Chris grabbed a M27 infantry assault rifle from his backseat.

"Come on. I don't want to miss anything in the briefing." Leon said as he began walking into the base.

"Ditto." said Chris as he followed Leon.

As the two neared a Kawasaki C-2 transport plane, a man was starting to give a speech to the BSAA soldiers. Leon and Chris joined the men and listened to the man as he briefed the soldiers preparing for takeoff. The man's voice was rough like sandpaper as he spoke. "Alright men, there are reports of an outbreak in Lisbon, Portugal. As far as we know, the only virus to be unleashed in the area is the c-virus. No other B.O.W.'s have been spotted so far, but we are to assume that they are in the area. We will first be landing on the island of São Miguel, one of the nine islands of the Azores archipelago. This island is the same island that the refugee camp is located on. We will be setting up our base of operations within the camp so that we can provide security to the members TerraSave while they help the refugee's." The man turned his attention to Chris now. "Captain Redfield will be the one in charge of this operation. Should Captain Redfield be killed in action or is missing, Special Agent Kennedy will take over position as commander. You are dismissed. Gather your equipment and bored the plane."

As the soldiers began loading ammo crates onto the plane, a woman was seen running towards the plane. Some of the soldiers readied their weapons at the women. "Freeze! This is a restricted area! What are you doing here?!"

The woman held up her hands and said, "Hold your fire! I'm Special Agent Sherry Birkin. I've been assigned as Agent Kennedy's partner for this assignment."

Leon heard Sherry from inside the plane and walked out. "Sherry? Did I hear you say you were my partner for this mission?"

"Yes. I came down as soon as I could."

"Wait a second. I didn't hear about having a partner on this assignment." Leon said confused.

"Hunnigan called me twenty minutes ago and told me that I was your partner. Call her to confirm."

"Sure. One second." Leon pulled out his phone and called Hunnigan. After a brief conversation, Leon hung up and turned to Sherry. "Alright, it looks like everything checks out. Let's get you on this plane and head out."

"Yes, sir." Sherry said with a comical salute.

The plane was soon in the air. Chris, Leon and Sherry all say together in silence, listening to the BSAA soldiers laugh as they made bets on how many B.O.W.'s they would kill. Both Leon and Chris were beginning to get annoyed with how the men were acting. Leon turned to Chris. "You want me to tell them?"

"Please. I've given enough of those depressing speeches."

"They're not depressing, they're realistic."

"And depressing." Chris added.

"You know why we have to do it." Leon said, his voice dropping into a small acceptance of the depressing nature of the speech he was about to give.

Chris answered Leon with silence. Leon grunted as he got on his feet. "Alright everyone, listen up!" Leon's voice boomed throughout the plane, filled with authority. The soldiers grew quiet as they turned their attention to Leon. "You know what I've been hearing since this plane took off? I've been hearing idiots assuming that they're going to survive this mission!" The men were shocked silent by Leon's words. "As much as I hate to be the bearer of bad news, you idiots need to learn something. It's likely that more than half of you shit-for-brain mongoloids are gonna die before this assignment is close to over." The men were even more stunned as Leon's words reverberated throughout the cabin. "I've been at this since it first began. I was a cop in Raccoon City. I escaped through the chaos because of two things. They weren't skill and talent. They weren't guns and bullets. Those go a long way, but they aren't what got me through everything. I survived because I had a partner watching my back and more than that, I was lucky. Luck is what allows people like us to live. I only survived because I overslept on the day of the outbreak. I got into the city when most of the chaos had been subdued by the zombies in the city." Leon pulled out a coin from his pocket and presented it to the men. "This coin can predict whether you live or die. It's all about luck. Captain Redfield, Agent Birkin, and myself are all more experienced than all of you combined and yet we could still die just as easily. I may die as soon as I step off this plane. I don't know. What I do know is that there are going to be casualties on this mission. So instead of you dumbass thunder-cunts making bets on who's going to kill what, ask the people you trust to deliver your last words and your tags to your family. What I recommend all of you do is find someone who is going to watch your back. Having a partner is what got me through a lot of missions in the past. It will help you idiots just as much." Leon was finished with his speech and sat down next to Chris. The cabin was silent for several minutes before soldiers began talking again.

Chris kept his face to the floor. "Seems that you didn't pull any punches, huh?"

"They needed to hear it."

"No question about that."

"Hey Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"You better survive this mission."

Leon's words caught Chris off guard. "Why's that?"

"I got something I need to tell you."

"And why, pray tell, can't you say it now?"

"If I do that, then you don't have as much of an incentive to get through this."

"I thought curiosity killed the cat?"

"Yeah, but satisfaction brought it back."

"So is this something that I'm gonna like?"

"You'll find the answer to that question after the mission."

Chris held out his fist next to Leon. "Semper fi, brother."

Leon hit the Chris' fist with the back of his own. "Semper fi." Leon repeated.

 **Hello everyone! I know it's been a while, but school just started so I have responsibilities. I want to reassure all of you that I will NEVER give up on these fics unless I end up dead. It may take months, but I will make sure to finish what I start. Also, if any of you guys like fallout 3, I am about to start writing a fic for that ENTIRE storyline. The updates will be even worse than this one though, but I will make sure to finish it. Also, If any of you guys are interested in being an editor for my fallout story, please message me. The only requirement I ask of you is that you know the story already so you can help give me more ideas. Again, sorry for the late update, but you should probably start getting used to this type of updating. School is a bitch, especially since I also have to worry about a medical class at the same time, so please have mercy upon me.**


	6. São Miguel

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

After a nearly ten hour flight, the BSAA troops finally landed in São Miguel. As the soldiers unloaded the plane, Leon, Chris, and Sherry began sweeping through the camp, familiarizing themselves with the area.

Leon was about to start heading towards the barracks when Chris stopped him, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder. "What's wrong Chris?" Leon asked.

"We should check out the medical tent." He said. "We'll be able to determine if there are any B.O.W.'s other than the ones caused by the C-virus."

"Good idea. Lead the way." Chris turned, making his way towards a tent where some screams of pain could be heard, as well as some people cursing in portuguese.

After walking in, Chris asked one of the doctors where they put the dead bodies. After pointing towards the back of the tent, Chris thanked the man and made his way to the back, followed by both Leon and Sherry. Chris turned to the two and said, "Alright, spread out and observe the dead for any special types of injuries that may have been caused by abnormal B.O.W.'s. Take out your knives, just in case the dead don't stay dead." Chris took out his blade from the sheath on his chest, the action being repeated by both Leon and Sherry.

As the three of them investigated the bodies, Sherry found something. "Guys, come over here."

Leon and Chris rushed to her side and looked at the corpse in front of them. The corpse had two holes through its abdomen, and it seemed to have been burned by something within that area. "What could have caused this?" Chris asked.

"Hunters maybe?" Sherry suggested.

"Hunters wouldn't have caused those burns." Leon said suspiciously.

The three of them pondered the wound until a soldier came into the tent, informing them that they needed to get to the command tent. The three of them reluctantly exited the tent and made their way to the command tent. As they entered, they saw Claire looking over a map, along with a BSAA commander. Both Chris and Leon walked up to the younger Redfield. "What are you doing here?" Chris asked curiously and somewhat worried.

"You know why I'm here. TerraSave puts out humanitarian efforts during these outbreaks." She said with an unentertained tone.

"No, why are you here in the command tent? You shouldn't be in here unless you're part of our operation." Chris was becoming anxious.

"I am part of your operation. I'm coming with your team as a field researcher to collect samples of the virus. Doing this may result in us finding a cure."

"What!?" Leon and Chris said simultaneously.

"Listen, I know you don't want me in danger, but this is my job. You can't tell me what I can and can't do."

Chris became tight lipped. "Fine, but you're staying in the middle of our formation, and you don't go anywhere without a bodyguard." Chris' words were firm, but Claire had never been one to follow orders that she thought were ridiculous.

"I'll stand wherever I damn well please, and I'll go anywhere without anyone if I want to. You have no authority over me in this situation."

Both Chris and Claire stood their ground until Chris let out an exhausted sigh. "You are so much like Dad, you know that?" Chris wrapped his arms around Claire. "I know this is your job, but I can't do my job if I have to worry about you constantly. Please, stay in the middle of the formation, and if you need to collect samples, allow someone to come with you."

"I'll stay in the middle of the formation, and I'll bring a guard with me, but please realise that I can take care of myself. I have made it through a few outbreaks, you know."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you can survive them all." Chris hugged his sister again. "I love you, Claire."

"I love you too. Speaking of surviving outbreaks…" Claire released her brother and looked him dead in the eyes and poked his chest. "If you die, I'm gonna kick your ass."

Leon cleared his throat. "As touching as this is, can we move on with this mission?"

Leon's voice was stern. Claire looked at him, noting how cold he was acting. "Well it's nice to see you too, Leon."

Leon nodded his head in agreement. Chris pulled Claire in close to him and whispered, "He's been acting a bit different after his latest mission. He lost all his men, and I think it affected how he acts while on the job, especially around people that he cares about." Claire looked past her brother, eying Leon who was currently studying a field report of the first BSAA agents to help with the outbreak.

The BSAA commander spoke up. "Like Agent Kennedy said, we should move on." All people in the tent surrounded the table and listened for the plan. "As I'm sure you all know, the outbreak has been centered in Lisbon." The commander marked the capital's location on the map with a small marker. "We've evacuated all cities within a hundred mile radius of the city. So far, the C-virus is the only virus present, but we have very little to go on. Communications were cut off soon after we entered the city."

Leon spoke up. "Do you think whoever released the virus is still in the city, jamming our communications?"

"It's a possibility, but we have no way of knowing. We've hired someone, a mercenary who knows the area well. He's with our team in the city right now, and he will be the one guiding you from the airport to city hall. The distance is about four miles, but due to the facts that you'll be moving slowly due to the B.O.W.'s infesting the area, as well as carrying all of your equipment, it's estimated that you'll get to City Hall in three hours."

"When are we getting shipped out?" Chris asked.

"We have a Chinook-47 coming in that will transport Alpha Squad to the airport in two hours. After Alpha squad has been deployed, Bravo squad will be shipped out to provide any necessary reinforcements."

"Are we getting any air support?" Sherry inquired.

"Negative. The city has gone to hell, but we have confirmed reports of survivors running throughout the city. Air support may end up killing civies that are hidden in buildings. Any more questions?" The room fell silent and the commander continued. "Good. Make sure that all of you are ready. The Chinook will take about four hours to make it to the airport, so be ready for a long flight. Dismissed."

The survivors exited the tent and as she was about to go and gather her gear, Claire felt a hand on her arm. She turned around to see a stoic Leon. "We need to talk." His tone made it more of an order, rather than a request.

She turned to face him. "Is something wrong?"

"You and I both know that you aren't the type of person that TerraSave sends out to 'collect samples'," he said lifting a brow at her. "So why are you going on this mission?"

Claire rolled her tongue over her teeth and looked away hesitant.

"I may have pulled some strings to get on this assignment…"

"Why?!" Leon spat out, trying to keep his voice at a normal level.

"Because I want to make sure that you're safe, you jackass!" Her voice came out in a soft shout. "Do you have any idea how scared I was when you left after we first kissed? I was terrified that we'd end things with such a bad memory between us."

Leon was silent for a moment, regretting, once again, not having been brave enough to come clean with her before. His hand grabbed hers. "I understand how you feel, Claire, but I can take care of myself. What I can't do is look after myself _and_ look after you."

Claire hugged him. "Like you, I can take care of myself, but let's admit it; we're better at looking after our partners, rather than ourselves."

Leon pushed her off of him for a moment and held her shoulders. "Claire, please just stay out of the action. For me."

Claire looked into Leon's eyes and pursed her lips. "Fine." She gave him a warm smile. "But if I see you in danger, I'm jumping in."

Leon rolled his eyes at her stubbornness and embraced her once more. "Deal. Come on, we have to get suited up." The two survivors caught up with the others, gathering any necessary equipment for the mission.


	7. The Airport

**Disclaimer:I own nothing**

After gathering their equipment and practicing at an improvised firing range, the team was ready to head out. The Chinook landed in a clearing just outside of the base. Leon and Chris stood outside, waving the soldiers into the military helicopter. As soon as everyone was in the helicopter, they began their journey to Lisbon. After several hours, they finally flew over the city. The pilot announced their position and how long it would be until they were landing.

Chris looked to Leon who was holding his fists under his chin. His eyes were closed and Chris could see his lips moving subtly. He was praying. "I didn't know you were religious." He said.

Leon opened his eyes and looked to Chris with an emotionally barren stare. "I'm not."

"Why are you praying then?"

"Insurance."

"Insurance?" Chris asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Remember how I said that I needed to tell you something before we landed in the Azores?"

"Yeah?" Chris said with a questioning tone.

"It has to do with that."

"Why can't you tell me about it now?"

"I have my reasons, Chris. Just know that I'm gonna be doing everything in my power to make sure I can still tell you by the end of this mission."

"I swear to God, if you're going to tell me something stupid, I'll just kick your ass right now."

The two of them laughed. "No, it's something important." Leon assured.

Before their conversation could continue, the pilot came on the intercom. "Alpha team, we are approaching the airport now. We'll be landing in five minutes."

Leon looked to Chris. "Why is it again that we're going to city hall?"

"The president of Portugal donates a lot of his own money to the BSAA. He also puts a lot of money on viral research, and according to Portuguese media, he's close to finding a cure."

"There's already a vaccine for the C-Virus."

"Not for the people that are already infected. He thinks he may be able to find a way to turn people back. Turn them human again." Chris' words were filled with hope.

"I don't know what this guy is smoking, but anything that makes you that high can't be good for you." Leon's voice was filled with misanthropy.

"Come on, Leon. You can't tell me that that's-"

"Too good to be true, Chris. You know it. I know it. Everyone knows it." Leon gave an exasperated sigh. "As much as I'd like it to be true, it's a pipe dream, Chris."

"Maybe, but if there's any kind of hope, I'm taking it."

"It must be nice, being able to do that. I started losing hope a long time ago." The man shook his head and gave a tired and worn smirk as he spoke. "This is just gonna keep happening until we're all dead."

"Then why do you keep fighting?"

Rather than answer, Leon engaged in a thousand yard stare, questioning his own reasons. "I guess I'm just stubborn…" Leon looked across the cabin of the helicopter, watching as Claire inspected her pistol. " _Or maybe I just have things worth fighting for."_ he thought.

The cabin fell silent as they landed. Chris and Leon were the first two to walk off the plane. The sight that greeted their eyes was as unexpected as it was welcoming. They saw Jake Muller standing in front of them, his black trench coat flailing about from the wind caused by the helicopter. Sherry approached Leon and Chris, but as soon as Jake entered into her line of sight, excitement filled her being. "Jake?!" She yelled. She ran past both Leon and Chris and into the arms of the soldier of fortune.

"Super Girl? What the hell are you doing here?" He asked as he wrapped her in a hug. Jake looked up at Leon and pointed at him. "That goes for you too. I thought my employers were the BSAA, not the DSO."

"This is a joint operation. Sherry and I are partnered with Chris."

The infamous redhaired beauty known as Claire Redfield cleared her throat from behind Leon. "TerraSave is also here to examine the virus. We're working with the Portuguese government in order to try to find a permanent cure for the C-Virus."

Jake raised his brow. "What are you talking about. Your government went through hell to find me so that you could get a cure. My blood."

"Your blood is a vaccine. It can boost a person's immunity, but it doesn't make them entirely immune. Not only that, but it also can't cure people who are already infected." Claire explained.

"How is taking more samples of the virus supposed to help?"

"We still have a lot of your blood in storage. We'll be using your blood to try and alter necrotic flesh back into living flesh."

"Well if you need more blood, you know where to get it."

A BSAA soldier came running up from behind Jake. "Sir, the western barricade was overrun. B.O.W.'s are starting to get through."

Jake turned to the team. "Alright. Let's get to business." He said, grabbing his gun and turning towards the airport.

 **Hey Guys. Sorry I haven't updated in nearly two months. School has been a bit hectic, plus I lost a bit of inspiration on how to continue the story, but after a brilliant idea came to mind, I am ready to write. Big thanks to Xaori for helping edit this chapter and offer suggestions when I was stuck. Go read her stories if you haven't already. I'll try to update the next chapter within a month, but as usual, I give no promises. Also, thank Xaori for making sure I updated this. I had completely forgotten to do it last week and Xaori reminded me this morning when I woke up. nShe is the reason why you get this at all so you guys should just go and buy her a bunch of expensive stuff.**


	8. The Western Barricade

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Jake turned to the airport, grabbing his pistol and pulling the slide down. "Follow me everyone. Party's just getting started." The team did as the mercenary told them.

Chris, watching his young comrade, leaned over to Leon. "He may be a cocky little runt, but he is good in a fight."

Leon nodded. "Agreed, but arrogance won't get you far in these situations." The two men exchanged serious glances.

Sherry came from behind the two men and slapped them on the back of the head. "Save the gossip for Teen Magazine, you two. We have a mission." She walked past them, and loaded a magazine into her gun.

Leon smiled. "God, she really loves that kid."

"Now all we have to do is find a woman for you to fall for." Chris said, smirking sarcastically.

Leon couldn't hold back a chuckle. "If you only knew." He thought to himself.

The soldiers finally reached what used to be the western barricade. What they found nearly stole their breaths. The area was littered with walking corpses and dead BSAA soldiers. No matter how many fights they had fought, one never got completely used to facing the undead. Jake turned around to the battalion of soldiers behind him. "It doesn't look like anyone made it. Eliminate all the B.O.W.'s. After that, we'll look for survivors." The soldiers nodded and proceeded to walk through the area, firing upon the zombies with a hail of bullets.

Chris stood next to Jake. "Never thought I'd see you to be so…" Chris said, searching for the right word.

"Professional?" Jake offered.

"That works."

"Leaders have to be respectable. That means that we have to be professional." Jake walked forward. "Come on. Let's help them clear this place out." Chris smirked and followed.

It wasn't long before the dead were finally resting, but it was too early to celebrate. "Sir, B.O.W.'s are flooding back in! They must have been attracted by the gunshots!"

Jake turned to Leon and Sherry. "You two, get outside and keep those damn brain munchers out of here until we can set up another barricade!"

"Got it!" Sherry shouted as she began running outside, Leon following closely behind her. The two agents exited the building while firing upon the regiment of undead being.

Leon and Sherry stood at each others backs. "Got any grenades?" Leon asked.

"A couple, but they're fragmentation grenades, not incendiary."

"As long as it can kill them, it doesn't matter. Keep them handy in case either of us start getting swarmed."

"Understood."

The two agents continued to stand their ground against the undead army before them, until a banshee-like scream emerged through the crowd of undead. The two agents covered their ears. "What the hell was that?!" Sherry said as she regained her composure.

"It's a shrieker!" Leon narrowed his eyes as he searched for the creature among the mass of undead. "Helena and I fought them back in Tall Oaks! Those bastard's screams draw in more of the infected."

Sherry raised her gun. "I thought there weren't any abnormal B.O.W.s here."

"There were none that were spotted. That doesn't mean that there weren't any already here." He clenched his teeth. "If you see the shrieker, wait until its throat is inflated. After that, it will be more vulnerable to attacks."

As misfortune would have it, the shrieker continued to hide within the crowd of zombies. Its screams echoed throughout the city, drawing in more and more of the infected. It wouldn't be long until Leon and Sherry were overrun. "Sherry, I'm down to my last mag!"

"Damn it! So am I!"

Leon holstered his weapon and brought out his knife. "Sherry, get out of here now. I'll hold them off."

Sherry watched him in shock before she shook her head and brought out her stun rod. "Not a chance in hell."

Leon gave her an impatient glance over the shoulder. "That's an order, Sherry!"

"Then court martial me."

He clenched his teeth as he looked at Sherry's cold expression. He couldn't risk her life so mindlessly, could he? Finally, he huffed out a laugh. "Why did you have to take after Claire and me?"

"Because that's how you make a difference in this world."

Leon couldn't help but smile at her. Sherry was something. She had so much of Claire that it hurt. At that moment, he couldn't have been prouder. The two stood in the street, weapons at the ready, waiting for the zombies to surround them. As the zombies drew nearer towards Sherry, she saw a collection of energy amass behind them. "Leon, what is tha-"

She was cut off as an explosion of electricity spread throughout the waves of undead, charring their flesh, and atrophying their muscles. Leon turned around, noticing the electricity getting closer and closer to them. "Sherry, move!" Leon grabbed his daughter and pulled her towards the airport as the electricity neared them.

The surge of raw power drew closer and closer to the two agents, only narrowly missing them as they dove back into the safety of the building. Leon held Sherry, shoving her head into his chest, and shielding her body with his own. The explosive sound generated from the electricity had ceased. Leon, though hesitant, loosened his hold on Sherry.

Several BSAA soldiers had run to their position after they heard the electric explosion. Chris lead the team that investigated the source of the sound, only to find Leon and Sherry inside the building. Chris offered the two of them a hand. "Please tell me that that explosion came from you." Though he knew it wasn't them, he pleaded anyway.

Sherry grunted as she stood. "Negative. I don't know what happened. It was like some giant power surge ripped through all the zombies in the street."

Chris turned to his team. "Alright men, let's investigate. Squad A, take the northern end of the street. I'll be searching the south end with squad B."

The soldiers gave a loud confirmation. "Yes, Sir!"

As the soldiers flooded out of the building, they were stunned at the cataclysmic sight that befell them. The burnt corpses of zombies covered the entirety of both sides of the street. Not a single infected had been spared from the destruction. Chris looked towards the southern end of the street, noting that the corpse were discernibly more burnt, than those at the northern end.

A soldier came up to Chris. "Sir, do you have any idea what could have done this?"

Chris narrowed his eyes. "Nothing that I can think of…" The soldier walked away, joining the team that was surveying the rest of the area. "At least nothing that's still alive." He whispered.

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Big thanks to my awesome editor, Xaori. Yo should have seen what this chapter was like before she edited it for me. It was nowhere near as good. Go read her stories, they are fantastic. Also, I'm still looking for an editor for my Fallout 3 fic, so if anyone is interested, just message me.


	9. Moving out

**Happy New Year to all of my loyal readers! I do apologize for the lateness of this chapter. I hope you all had a good start to the new year, but if you didn't, I am here to put your hearts at ease. Now kick back, grab the whiskey, and let's get this thing started.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chris hastily walked back to the airport. The news about the recent happenings had spread like wildfire among the soldiers, but nobody could give him closer information. He needed to speak to Leon and Sherry. As he entered, he ran over to the two agents who were currently being looked over by a medic. He nearly pushed the young man away when he reached his friends. "Did either of you see what caused that electricity? Any possible source?" He asked frantically.

Leon shook his head, not able to remember when he had last seen his friend so flustered. "No, It was too far within the horde for me to see anything."

The man turned to Sherry. "What about you?"

"I'm sorry, Chris. I didn't see anything," she said headshaking. The B.S.A.A. captain took a deep breath and rubbed his head, causing the young woman to frown in concern. "Why do you ask? Is everything ok?"

Chris exhaled frustratedly. "It… I don't know. I can only think of one thing that could have caused that electricity…"

"What is it, Chris?" Sherry leaned forward curiously.

Chris looked at the two of them with an intense stare. "Piers."

Sherry and Leon exchanged short gazes and then both looked to Chris in shock. "You mean your old partner?" Sherry asked in shock and concern.

"Yeah." Chris' voice was cold as he pushed the words over his lips.

Leon got up and gave him a serious glance. "But your mission report said he died after shoving you in an escape pod."

"Yeah, I thought he did."

"Could it be someone else? Maybe someone suffered a mutation similar to Piers'." Sherry said rubbing her chin as she thought of the young soldier who had given his life to rescue his captain. It was hard to believe it was the same being they had encountered out on the field.

"That's a possibility," Chris said as if he tried to convince himself. "But I don't think that's what we're dealing with."

Leon took a step forward and put his hand on Chris' shoulder. "Chris, I know this is tough, but either way, we need to keep a clear head. We should focus on the mission for now."

Chris smirked. Leon Kennedy and his nerve-racking professionalism. "You're right. I'm gonna go find Jake and see if we're any closer to moving out towards city hall."

Leon smiled and sat back down. Once Chris was gone, Sherry turned to him and asked, "Do you think he'll be alright?"

"He'll be fine. My only worry is that Piers _is_ back and he's not playing for our side."

Sherry looked at Leon with a concerned face. "Do you think that's the case?" She hesitantly asked.

Leon stood quiet for a moment. "...I don't know." He said finally.

Suddenly Jake's voice carried itself through the room. "Everyone, listen up!" Jake got on top of a counter and looked around at the soldiers. "We're going to move out sooner than planned. That swarm nearly did us in, and we don't know if there's another one on the way. We're going to abandon the airport and head straight for the Palácio de São Bento. If there are no serious roadblocks, and we drive at a steady speed, we should get there in roughly twenty minutes. If we find any survivors that are not currently infected, we will take them with us. Any questions?" The crowd of soldiers remained silent. Some of them shook their heads. "Good. Everyone, start preparing to move out." Jake turned his head to the soldiers on the right. "Alpha squad, I need you to help secure and guard the perimeter while the rest of us load the equipment into the trucks."

Jake looked at Chris who gave him a nod. "Understood. Alpha squad, on me!" He yelled. Chris grabbed his rifle and moved out towards the entrance. The soldiers, as well as Leon, Claire, and Sherry followed their leader outside, scanning for infected as they filed out into the streets. "Alright men, I need my top marksmen to stay here and watch over us as we go deeper into the street to look for anything that compromises the security of the airport. Santos and Miller, you two are on the job. Can I trust you?"

Santos stepped forward. "Yes Captain Redfield, you can count on us." He turned to his companion and the two marksmen moved away from the group. They found high ground atop the roof of a destroyed bus and began watching for signs of infected.

"Good. Leon and Sherry, you two will be leading Squad A down the south end of the street while Claire and I search the north end." His sister gave him a short nod as their eyes met. "Everyone is to maintain communications with each other. We may not be able to communicate with our people in São Miguel, but we can still maintain radio contact with each other over a short enough distance." He took a deep breath. "Good luck men. Everyone, move out!" As the two teams of soldiers dispersed into the street, Leon and Claire looked at each other. No words were spoken, but the two of them knew what the other was thinking.

Leon and Sherry maintained constant watch towards the end of the street, looking for any zombies or other B.O.W.s that would surface. Hopefully, Jake and the men would load the trucks before they'd run into more troubles. The attack from before had supplied them with enough adrenaline for the next few days. The soldiers that had come with then either followed the agents' lead or examined the building for anything that would compromise their security.

Meanwhile Chris and Claire were examining for compromisations along with a few select troops while the rest of the squad guarded them. They didn't get far before Jake radioed in.

"Redfield, Kennedy! We're done here. As soon as you get back here, we can move out."

"Kennedy!" Chris spoke into the device. "You heard it. Get your pretty ass back to the truck." Claire tried to roll her eyes at her brother's comment, but smirked as she admitted that he wasn't entirely wrong about that pretty ass.

Each squad double timed it back towards the entrance where a battalion of humvees and M35 transport trucks awaited them. It was time to move out. They survivors loaded into the M35's. Leon sat across from the Redfield siblings and smirked at Chris. "I knew you were always looking at my ass."

"Well it looks a lot the asses of the women I've been with."

"Chris, two women and your hand isn't saying that much."

Claire cleared her throat. "Excuse me, but I do believe my ass is much more beautiful than Leon's"

Leon couldn't help but say, "Won't argue with you there."

Chris acted as if he were dry heaving. "Watch it, Kennedy. That's my sister. As for you Claire, I'd like to keep my lunch down, so please shut up."

Claire shook her head. "No can do, bro. I'm a bombacious woman and I ain't hiding it."

"Please God, kill me now." Chris said in despair.

A laugh was shared between the three until a the transport truck came to an abrupt stop. Leon stood up and grabbed his gun. "Jake, what's going on!" He said over the radio.

"WE'RE UNDER ATTA-" The radio was cut out as a large explosion detonated from outside the truck.

 **I am sorry for the short chapter everyone. I'd have made it longer but right now I seem to be losing some steam when it comes to getting each chapter done within a specific time frame. Fear not, I will never give up on this story until it's done. Thank you all for sticking by me on this story. Before I go, BIG thanks to my awesome editor Xaori. Go read her stories, they're far better than mine. Not only that, but she has some good Cleon fics. I love you all, thank you, and goodnight!**


	10. The Ambush

**Hey guys, I'm sorry for taking so long as usual, but I kind of dug myself into a hole with the attack on the military convoy. It seems that this story has become more challenging to write as time goes on, but I shall persevere. Please enjoy the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

The unforeseen explosion caused everyone to duck down. Sherry was the first one to get up and run outside, but as soon as she exited the truck, she found herself surrounded by j'avo armed with large machetes. Wasting no time, Sherry opened fire on them. Her bullets failed to even damage them, however. She pulled out her shock baton and charged at them, making contact with the blades of their machetes, amplifying the electric current.

Leon and Chris exited the truck and unleashed a storm of bullets on the surrounding j'avo. Sherry hit another of them with her shock baton and turned to Leon and Chris. " Bullets won't work on them! We need to fight them with knives or other blades!"

Chris dropped his gun and pulled out his combat knife with Leon following his lead. "Aim for soft spots of flesh! The underarms, elbows, back of the knees, or basically anything that needs to be soft to move." Leon yelled out.

Sherry sweeped the leg of a j'avo. Bringing her shock baton down on its head, she increased the voltage until the monsters flesh began to char. Chris parried the blows from a j'avo until he managed to get in close enough to render it incapable of attack. Chris took his knife and jammed it through the j'avo's underarm, causing it to drop its machete. Chris picked it up and used it to hack at its knees. Leon evaded the attacks from the j'avo until he was able to maneuver his way behind one and slide his knife across his throat. Other soldiers in the formation had already begun fighting the B.O.W.s, but too few of them had begun using hand-to-hand combat. Chris and Leon joined the men in the defense, but Sherry ran to try and find Jake.

She found the vehicle that led the convoy turned upside-down and on fire. She ran to the cabin of the truck and forced it open, revealing an unconscious Jake that hung in his seat. "Jake?! Jake?!" She yelled, trying to listen for a response. She grabbed his seat belt and unbuckled it, proceeding to drag him outside of the vehicle. He had blood coming from the side of his head, but he was breathing.

Sherry picked Jake up over her shoulder and ran across the street to safety. Setting him down, she began checking for any wounds on his body, but before she could make any proper evaluations, she heard the unmistakable sound of an angry j'avo behind her. The blonde turned around to see the deformed human lingering over her, bloodied machete in hand. Before she could do anything, Leon came from behind the j'avo and severed the tendons in the back of its knees, forcing the j'avo to the ground where he managed to stab his knife through its thoracic outlet.

"What are you doing Sherry? You can't treat him here!"

"But-"

"No buts!" Leon yelled. "Set him down against that wall. We'll hold this position until the j'avo are dead."

Leon and Sherry watched over Jake. Several j'avo attempted an attack, only to have Leon and Sherry fend them off. It seemed as if the battle would go on forever, but as the j'avo's numbers began to dwindle, they became more wary of continuing battle. They yelled out to each other with guttural voices, calling for a retreat. The monsters ran away from the company of soldiers, leaving them with several injured and even more dead.

As soon as the coast was clear Sherry turned her attention to Jake. She shook him gently while speaking his name, trying to wake him. He let out a small grunt before lazily opening his eyes. "Supergirl?"

"Thank God you're ok!" Sherry let out a sigh of relief.

Jake grunted as he rubbed his head. "It'll take more than that to kill me."

Leon kneeled down. "You're lucky to be alive. What happened exactly?"

"We were driving, but suddenly we saw someone in the road. They wore a cloak and were walking the same direction as us. We decided to stop to try and see if we could take them with us, but as soon as we did, they ripped of the cloak to reveal one of those j'avo bastards with a fucking rocket launcher. He aimed it at us, but missed the truck, and hit the ground beneath us. We're lucky. If he had aimed only a few feet higher, he would have killed us."

Sherry wrapped her arms around Jake. "You scared the living hell out of me, you bastard."

Jake smiled and returned her embrace. "I know Supergirl. I know…"

"I really don't mean to interrupt this love fest, but we should really get out of here before those things regroup." Leon explained.

Jake grunted as he stood. "He's right. We need to get out of here ASAP."

Chris aided Jake by offering his shoulder to lean on as they walked back to their vehicle. Claire stood outside the truck, collecting samples of the new B.O.W.s. Chris and Sherry helped load Jake into their vehicle while Leon approached Claire. "What are you doing out here, Claire? It's dangerous."

Claire put her samples into a vial and sealed it with a smug grin. "The world is dangerous, Leon," she said turning to him. "I know you want to protect me, but you of all people should know how capable I am of handling myself."

Leon sighed in defeat. "I know, but you understand I don't want to lose anyone, especially not you."

Claire stood up and kissed him. "I know," she whispered. "But you don't have to worry about losing me. I can take care of myself."

Leon returned the kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too," she said.

Leon took a knee and dragged a finger across the hard skin of the j'avo. "Do you know what made their skin so hard?"

Claire shook her head. "No. This is a different and more potent strain of the C-virus. This strain, when injected, causes severely advanced lithoderma."

"Lithoderma?" Leon asked.

"Stone-like skin." Claire explained.

"Could it be a different virus entirely?"

"I don't think so. It caused the same type of mutations in the subjects as seen in Edonia and China. Only points of normal flesh are the joints and neck."

Leon sighed in annoyance. "Fantastic. I always wanted nearly bullet proof enemies." Leon stood up and began walking back to the truck. "Come on. We should report to the others what we found."

"Agreed."

 **Hello everyone. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Like I said before I kind of dug myself into a hole with that attack on the convoy. I just added it in there as a whim because I felt it would be best to have some type of cliffhanger. Not only that, but I also added the mutated j'avo on a whim as well because I thought that adding normal j'avo would be too boring. I actually almost never have a plan on what I write except for very big things that impact the story directly. In terms of writing, I usually just type whatever comes to mind at that second. Anyway, thank you all for reading. BIG thanks to my editor Xaori who is the BEST. Read her stuff if you haven't already. I'm gonna be getting surgery on Thursday so if you don't hear from me again, you know why. Feel free to take my stuff, but you'll have to attend my funeral and win the battle royal. I'm giving everyone a taser and the last one standing has claim to everything. Also, if anyone is just starting to read the story and see's that I'm getting surgery, don't worry. I usually take a long time to update chapters because I'm a lazy bastard. If all goes well, I will post a new chapter next month. Goodbye, my friends!**


	11. City Hall

**Hey everyone. Guess what! I DIDN'T DIE! I hope none of you were too worried. The surgery was barely able to be called such. I used the word very loosely. I was just getting an ingrown toenail removed. I was feeling a little evil when I published the last chapter so I decided I would be vague. I hope I can make up for worrying you with this new chapter. If this doesn't make up for it then tough. *Whispering* I'm not really that sorry about this. ANYWAY, I hope you all love the chapter. Enjoy!**

Sherry was treating Jake while Chris was brooding in the very back of the truck when Claire and Leon walked in. The redhead announced to the inhabitants of the truck of her findings on the j'avo, informing everyone that if they were to encounter anymore of them, to aim for weak spots that require flexibility to properly move and function. A soldier came into the truck and reported that the truck Jake was in held their supply of C-virus vaccines. Aside from a small number of emergency vaccines that were held in each of the vehicles, their supply was destroyed. If zombies were to overrun the convoy, they'd be unable to save most of the people who get bit.

Everyone knew they needed to move out as soon as possible. They took stock of what they had left after the attack and grabbed any spare ammunition that their dead comrades had on them. They set out for City Hall, speeding through the streets.

As soon as they arrived, men in black armor and masks, armed with HK G36's ran through the doors and surrounded the convoy, watching for any hostiles that could have followed them. A man in a suit exited with them. The man was followed by two of the black armored men. He approached the lead vehicle as Leon and Chris were exiting along with Jake who was being supported by Chris. "My name is Agostinho Sousa. I'm the president's council. You need to come with us now. Our elite guard will cover your men as you enter the building." The man's voice was deep and it seemed as though he had little patience for inconvenience.

"We need to get our injured inside first. Do you have any men who can help us?"

"I'm afraid not. Our men are split between guarding the president and protecting your convoy. Please, make it as quick as possible. The longer we're out here, the more at risk we are."

With that, the man retreated back inside the building, followed by his two guards. Any uninjured soldier helped transporting the wounded inside. It didn't take too long, but it was longer than they would have preferred. With all the injured inside, the uninjured soldiers went back outside to guard the convoy, now that the black clad men were no longer protecting it. The man from before, Agostinho, walked up to Chris. "The president would like to see you now. Bring anyone that you believe is necessary to be there for the meeting, but try to limit your numbers. The less people in the room, the better."

Chris gave the man a distrustful look. He turned around and called for Jake and Leon to follow him. With that, they followed Agostinho up a flight of stairs to a room with large doors. He opened one of the doors and gestured for them to enter. As they did, they saw another man in a suit standing with several people in lab coats. They spoke in portuguese, discussing something about isolating a virus within the host, or at least that's what Jake could make out.

The man in the suit turned around and smiled. "You must be the men that the BSAA sent."

"Yes, sir, that's correct. My name is Captain Chris Redfield. This is Leon Kennedy and Jake Muller."

"I am President Afonso De Santos. It's nice to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise, Mister President." Chris said. "We need to move out as soon as possible. Our evac team is going to be back at the airport tomorrow in the early morning. If we're going to secure your safety, leaving now would be best."

"I'm sorry Mister Redfield, but right now that may not be able to afford to take such action."

"What are you talking about? We came here specifically to evacuate you from this area." Chris was becoming somewhat annoyed as well as confused.

The president was unfazed, as if he expected the outburst. "I understand your confusion, but my scientists are very close to what we believe may be the cure we have been looking for."

"So bring them along with us."

"I'm afraid that is not possible Captain Redfield." The president shook his head. "All of our research as well as our equipment is here. We cannot afford to risk losing it all."

Before Chris could reply, Leon stepped forward. "I understand your hesitance, sir, but this isn't negotiable. We can leave your scientists here along with a group of our men to protect them until their research is complete."

"I'm sorry, but that is not an option either, Mister Kennedy. I may be the president, but I am also a scientist. The scientist who has the most relevant virological knowledge in this room. Staying here will allow this research to be completed sooner and more efficiently."

"Sir, we have no means of communication as of this moment. Whoever released this outbreak is jamming our communications so it's impossible for us to reschedule an evac."

"How long is it until we are scheduled to be evacuated?" the president asked.

"The evacuation team is scheduled to arrive at 0700."

"Then we will be done by 0600."

"With all due respect Mister President, don't make promises you can't keep."

"I'm doing no such thing. Our research is promising, and if you assist us in its completion we will be able to finish the cure sooner."

"We're not scientists, Mister President." Leon said bluntly.

"No, but you can help in a different way. My scientists need specimens in order to conduct their research. If you would be so willing, we need you to go out and collect some of the infected using non-lethal measures."

"You must be joking?" Jake chimed in.

"Not at all. We will equip you with more suitable body armor to prevent bites from the infected."

"Out of the question." Chris said sternly. "I will not be endangering the lives of my men for a cause that is unlikely to succeed."

President De Santos sighed. "I understand. It is no large loss. I can send my own men to do so."

"If you are so insistent on it, then I recommend sending them out in small groups of men to avoid unwanted attention."

"I will keep that in mind. Thank you Captain Redfield. You can return to your men downstairs and perform any duties you wish. If you need to speak to me again, please notify Agostinho so as to avoid any abrupt disruptions in our work." With that, the president turned around and joined his scientists once more.

Chris, Jake, and Leon began walking back to the entrance. As soon as they were out of hearing distance, Chris spoke. "Keep an eye on the President as well as his right hand man. Something isn't sitting right with me."

"You were getting that feeling too, huh?" Jake replied.

"Yeah. I hope to God I'm wrong, but I just don't feel good about that guy."

"Agreed." Leon said.

"I'll try and listen in on any of the conversations those black masked guys have," Jake offered. " My Portuguese isn't the best, but I know enough to understand if they're planning anything."

"Just be careful. We don't know if they're up to anything, and if they are, I doubt they'll like you listening in." Chris said.

"Don't worry, Captain Steroid, I know how to be covert."

It was silent for a moment. "...I don't take steroids."

 **Hey everyone sorry for the long wait. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Big thanks to my amazing editor Xaori. You're the best. Go read the stuff she writes. If you don't, I will...do… something. I don't know yet, but go and do it.**


	12. I don't know what to call this chapter

**Hello everyone. I know it's been a long time since I updated this fic. Truth is that I'm losing a lot of steam when it comes to this one. I wish I had just finished writing it before I had published it. This chapter is going to be VERY short just so you don't all try and track me down to rip my head off. I have a very important announcement at the end of this chapter so please pay attention and read it. Also, don't expect a lot from this chapter. I literally threw it together spontaneously. I may end up scrapping it later and replacing it after it's , let's get to why you're really here.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Claire sat among the soldiers, near the entrance of the building with her back to the wall. She saw Leon approaching and smiled. "Hey stranger." She said with a tired voice.

He sat down next to her. "Are you alright?" He asked.

"Just tired."

Leon sighed and looked forward. "Yeah… Me too." Claire could sense a sort of sadness in his voice.

"Are _you_ alright?"

Leon closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm just sick of this world."

His response shocked Claire. Leon was never the most optimistic person, but saying that he was sick of the world was never something she thought that she'd hear from him. "The world isn't the best place, but there's a lot of good in it."

"Yeah, but not nearly enough."

Claire grabbed his hand. "What's this really about, Leon? You're never so… cynical."

Leon looked her in the eye before looking away. "Since I was young, I've wanted to be a father."

Claire didn't know what to say at first. The response didn't seem like it related to what they were talking about at all. "Ok?"

"I couldn't imagine bringing a child into this hellhole." He said. "That's one of the main reasons why I've kept fighting for so long. I wanted to make sure that the world was a better place for whenever I ever met the right person." His grip slightly tightened around her hand. He looked into her eyes. "But I don't think that day will ever come. The day that I can just let the gun slip from my hand and replace it with a baby's pacifier. Play catch in the backyard with my son. Pick the gun back up when my daughter gets her first boyfriend."

His last sentence brought a laugh to Claire. "You're still being sarcastic so you can't be feeling all too bad."

"Sarcastic?" He asked her.

Claire smiled and punched Leon in the arm. "Listen to me." She said with a soft yet stern tone. "The world will never be safe enough to bring a child into these days. There's always gonna be another bad guy out there for you to stop. Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and just do your best to make sure everything goes right."

Leon smiled and looked around for Chris before planting a quick kiss on her cheek. "You're one hell of a woman, you know that?"

"I know. I do have a question for you though."

"And what's that?"

"Did you say all this to see if I'd want kids in a way that didn't seem like we were moving too fast.?"

Leon laughed. "No, but it did cross my mind while I was doing it that it was a good way to find out. Out of curiosity, what is the answer to that question?"

"I don't really remember you using protection any of the times we were together." She said quietly.

"Don't tell your brother that."

"I think he'd figure it out when he sees his nephew calls you 'Dada'."

"Maybe the roids will keep his mind occupied."

Claire snickered. "Good luck on that one."

Leon and Claire sat there for the next few moments, allowing for the peaceful silence to overtake them.

 **Before you yell at me about how shit this chapter was, I know. I literally started this 45 minutes ago and it went slowly. I also didn't tell Xaori about this chapter because I just wanted to get it out that door ASAP. I'm sorry Xaori, please don't kill me. As I said, I've been losing steam on writing this. Now for that important announcement. I need all of your help. I'm really losing motivation for this fic and I really don't want to break my promise about not abandoning it. There's only two ways how this fic continues. The first way is that you all spread word of this fic around so more people read it and I get more motivated. My other fics that I've published have amassed almost twice as many views and even more favorites in less than two months and this thing has been out for over a year. The RE2 remake coming out is likely going to get more people reading Cleon fics and therefore give me more motivation for this one, but it might not be enough so please just recommend this fic to anyone you think might be interested. The other option is that I allow someone else to adopt this fic from me so that they can continue it. I asked Xaori if she'd like to and as much as she wants to, she has her own life. *Whispers* I think she's lying. *Dodges gunfire* SHIT! SHE HEARD ME! Alright, let's get back on track. I don't have many requirements if you wish to adopt the fic. Just message me if anyone is interested and I'll keep it in mind. The only two requirements for the time being is that you can speak english moderately well enough for me to understand what you write. That brings us to my second requirement. I need to edit the fic. This is nonnegotiable. Since I started this fic, I want to be there when it ends, regardless of whether or not I'm the one who actually makes it. If you are interested and have any fics of your own, I'd like to read them so I can get a good feel for your writing style. I'd like to keep this all somewhat similar to what I have so far. Anyway, please reach out to me if you're interested. Hopefully this fic will get more reads with the new game coming out, and keep me motivated, but I need to make a plan for everything. Until next time.**


	13. Chapter 13

**What's this? A new chapter within this year? Well I can't take the credit. My awesome, beautiful, and creative friend Xaori wrote this chapter, but I still edited it myself! You'll notice that the quality has increased by 5,000% because of her writing though. Anyway, please enjoy reading the chapter, and afterwards, go read Xaori's stuff. (It's dirty!) Otherwise I'll shank you. Just kidding. For now...**

Watching the guards was more complicated than he had thought. Some of the men had followed them into the hall; the rest was standing outside in small groups, getting ready for their mission to find and capture living infected. Jake had discreetly approached the group, offering water to an uninjured soldier who was sitting next to the door while he kept an eye on the guards outside.

He had expected to catch some movements, maybe even bits of conversation, from where he was, but not only were the masked men quiet, but they stood completely still in front of the building; almost unnaturally perfect and disciplined.

He frowned and turned his head to the people in the hall. Chris was checking the ammunition with some of the B.S.A.A. soldiers. Claire and Leon were sitting on the ground next to each other, not paying attention to anything other than themselves. Sherry though… Sherry was nowhere to be found

The president's council, Agostinho Sousa, appeared in the hall, followed by the two guards from before and walked directly out of the building towards the waiting masked men. Jake kept his position as his eyes followed the man outside. When he reached the masked men, the guards gathered around him, making it impossible for Jake to read the council's lips. He could hear them, though. If he concentrated, he would be able to understand some words as well.

" _Você já conhece as ordens_ ," he heard the council say something about them already knowing the orders. " _Vá para o leste, onde você encontra o-_ "

"Thanks man." The soldier next to Jake had finished his water bottle and squeezed the plastic, keeping Jake from overhearing the important instructions. Before he would miss any other detail, like what they would find exactly in the east, the mercenary pushed his hand onto the soldier's mouth to shut him.

"I'll explain later," he whispered as he kept focusing on the conversation.

" _Traga-os para a entrada sudoeste,_ " the council said before dismissing the masked men and turning back to the door.

"So, there's an entrance on the south-east side. The question is whether he was talking about the City Hall building or not." Jake mumbled to himself before Mr. Sousa could enter the building again. He gave the soldier a smirk before he uncovered his mouth. "Sorry."

"I'm going to see if they need any more help with the injured." Claire smiled at Leon and got onto her feet. "See you later Mister Kennedy." With a wink, she turned away from him and left Leon alone with his thoughts; thoughts about Claire and her curves, mostly. Leon smiled as he watched her walk away.

Once his redhead was gone, he had a look around the entrance hall. Chris was busy with the ammunition and discussing the next moves with some of his men as many other soldiers were still resting in random corners of the room. Leon decided he'd make himself useful and got up to ask Jake if he had found out anything yet. Once on his feet, though, he noticed that Jake wasn't around anymore. Remembering he had last seen him next to the entrance when Agostinho had shown up, Leon walked towards the soldier on the floor. The man looked up as soon as he spotted him.

"He mumbled something about a southeast entrance. That's all I know," he hissed even before Leon could ask questions. The agent lifted his eyebrows at the man's reaction. "He sprinted out of the door as soon as the council was gone."

Leon rolled his eyes. He admired Jake's courage, but given that he had run into danger so mindlessly proved to Leon that the young mercenary was a very hot-headed fighter. It kinda reminded him of himself. The agent chuckled, turned around and walked to Chris' group.

"Captain Redfield," he called as he pulled his friend aside and whispered to him. "I think Wesker Junior is after something."

"Is he in trouble?" Chris grimaced. A lost companion was the last thing they needed. Fortunately, Leon shook his head.

"I don't think so," he replied. "But we might need to check his location anyway."

However, before the two men could make a decision, destiny in the shape of Claire intervened to make things more complicated. The redhead approached the two men gasping.

"Have you seen Sherry?" She asked in concern. "She hasn't been seen in a while."

Chris and Leon exchanged dark looks.

"Shit."

So, that was the Southeastern Entrance. Jake stared at the gates on the other side of the building and the two masked guards that had been placed in front of them. It was comforting to see that there were only a couple of men keeping the gates, but even so, he didn't want to catch any unwanted attention. He pulled out an apple and bit it as he sat next to the building, thinking which the easiest way inside was. As he chewed the fruit, he watched the horizon, spotting a dark shadow on the thin line between the ground and the almost nocturnal sky.

He smirked as he saw how the stain turned into a Pickup truck."Idiots," he whispered. "There goes Redfield's good advice about avoiding attention." However, he was glad they approached them in a vehicle. As the truck came to stop in front of the gate and the guards were distracted, Jake used the shadows provided by the night to run towards the truck, lifted the cover and jumped onto the bed.

He found several in sheets wrapped bundles on the truck and expected them to be the zombies they had been after. They moved and grunted under the covers and nearly caused Jake to shiver. Once they were inside, the guards would surely waste no time to get their load off the truck. He would have to disappear very quickly. Jake kept quiet as the engine roared and the vehicle began to move into the building.

' _Weird,'_ he thought. ' _They haven't spoken a word to each other.'_

And the guards kept silent, not speaking a word even when they drove farther into the building. Jake moved the cover up carefully and peaked out. Blue neon lights illuminated the halls and the red-haired man noticed the stinging stench of chemicals.

"If we're not close to the lab, I'll eat my hat," he whispered as he lifted the cover a little more. The long hall they were driving through seemed to be empty, besides some barrels and crates; Jake recognized a chance when he saw one. When the zombies in the sheets behind him moved more violently, he ripped the cover up and jumped off the bed, searching for cover behind the wooden containers as the truck kept rolling farther into the building.

Once everything was quiet, he scanned the area for any more guards or, even worse, cameras. But the hall seemed to be clean. He put a hand on his gun and searched his pockets for a magazine. He sighed.

"Should have brought more ammo." He started thinking if he could find some ammunition in the barrels next to him, but it was probably better if he didn't catch the men's attention unnecessarily. Jake took another look around before he ran after the truck. It was probably the most intelligent move for him to make.

"Everything is fine, sir," Chris called out. "My men are not used to sitting around and waiting for hostages to get ready for departure.

Agostinho chuckled as his view drove over the crowd.

"Don't get me wrong, Captain Redfield, but we can't be called hostages," Mr. Sousa told him in a chiding voice. "The people here are a team of scientists working on a cure. You're not here to save them, but to protect them and their work."

Chris had to take a deep breath to avoid rolling his eyes. "Of course, sir," he sighed. "But for my men, that makes no difference. Target is target and hostages need protection, too."

Sousa kept looking angrily at the people in the room. "Weren't there more people with you before?"

Claire stood only some feet away from her brother and overheard their conversation perfectly. ' _Oh yeah,'_ she thought. ' _There was a young blonde you might have abducted, you asshole._ ' Leon watched her, nearly seeing how her blood boiled. His hand reached intuitively for Claire's and squeezed it. She closed her eyes and breathed.

The older Redfield, still facing the council, forced a smile and shook his head. "Everyone is where they belong, Mr. Sousa."

The response was improvised and challenging, but the council seemed to be satisfied with it as he didn't ask further questions. "Please let me know if you need anything." With that, he disappeared behind one of the doors again.

Chris sighed in relief and turned to Claire and Leon. "That guy is a sharp one," he said. "He'll notice if anyone else goes missing."

Claire grimaced as she heard her brother speak. It meant no more people running mindlessly into danger – by people, naturally, he meant his sister. The moment they had noticed Sherry was missing, Chris, Claire and Leon had agreed to see if Jake's hint was leading to something and check if there was actually something like an entrance on the southeast side of the building. However, before they could gather weapons and ammunition, the council had appeared in the hall and had started asking questions. No wonder; the soldiers were getting loud as they ran out of patience. Everything was ready for departure, except for the scientists they were supposed to rescue.

"We definitely can't go all together. Chris," Leon said as he turned to the older Redfield. "You need to stay here in case Sousa comes back. If you're missing he will notice for sure and we can't risk to get caught by that guy."

Chris nodded and handed Leon some magazines. "I guess that means you're going."

The agent nodded as he took the ammo and patted him on the shoulder before turning to Claire, who gave him an encouraging nod. "I'm going too."

Leon took a breath, before he could speak, though, Chris did that for him. "Claire, don't be reckless. Leon can handle it alone."

She grimaced at her brother before she threw a begging glance at Leon. The man smiled at her and gave her a wink, hidden from Chris' eyes.

"I know you want to get Sherry back," he said. "But your brother is right. One person is enough to check if there's really an entrance out there. Also, we need all eyes and ears in this hall."

She bit her lip and nodded reluctantly. When Chris turned away shortly, she gave Leon a pleading look. "Please be careful."

"I will." He winked again and started walking towards the front door as discreetly as possible.

Claire watched him as he disappeared into the darkness, when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to look into Chris' eyes.

"I think you're tired, Claire. I know you are good friends, but you're acting like the two of you are married." He said through a small fit of laughter and turned away. "And I really hope my sister has better taste in men."

She rolled her eyes. "You're such an ass."

 **So how'd you all like it? It'd be better if you said that you loved it. Like I said before, my good friend Xaori is the one who wrote this chapter so please go read her stuff (I edited her fic Just Friends). She's actually the one who convinced me to publish this fic so you should support her because reasons and stuff. Anyway, until next time. GO READ XAORI'S STUFF NOW!**


	14. Update

**Hey guys I'm sorry to do this but this isn't an actual chapter but rather an update. I am going to abandon this fic but I am currently trying to convince Xaori to take it over for me. I've honestly lost my entire spark for writing for the time being. Maybe it's just life getting in the way, maybe it's just my current environment, or maybe it's just that I don't have the same passion I used to have. Anyway I'm sorry for any and all disappointment this causes for you guys. Stay tuned though in case Xaori does decide to adopt the fic. If she does we may keep posting on my profile but just in case make sure to look at her profile for anything as well. I'm sorry again for all of you loyal readers that have been here since the beginning.**


	15. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Jake found himself in a large, dark room where the temperature had been cooled down to freezing degrees. Different test tubes with colorful content stood on long metal shelves on the wall and a large table with surgical equipment could be found in the middle of the room. It looked frighteningly sterile; the kind of immaculate surroundings and walls the undead usually liked to smear their blood and brains onto. There were two doors; one he had come through; the other lay on the opposite wall. That's where he was going, but not before inspecting the area he found himself in currently. Jake had a closer look at the test tubes.

"C-v2-Niv," he read on the samples - or whatever it was. "I think I will make little Redfield a gift," the man mumbled as he pushed the test tube with the yellowish liquid into his inner pocket and proceeded in his investigation. "Can't be very important if they leave it here without surveillance." Wasn't it weird that there were no guards around? Jake snorted. He wouldn't have wanted to run into a horde of enemies, but the fact that there was no one watching over this was even more frightening.

A bumping sound came from the next room. Jake placed his hand onto the pistol in his holster and hurried towards the door. Under the deafening impact of shouts from the inside, the young man managed to open it unobserved and peek inside. What he saw made him freeze.

Several guards were surrounding a stretcher, pinning down the subject on it. It looked human. Jake recognized the uniform, though; it was one of the soldiers that had fought with them against the J'avo. What the hell were they doing to him?

One of the guards pulled so hard at the soldier's arm that he ripped it off. Jake grimaced in disgust as the blood splattered all over the guards. The sound of clapping interrupted them.

"Imbecis! Meu objeto de teste." The sarcastic voice was familiar to Jake; he couldn't say he was surprised when the president showed up and pushed the guards away. He approached the stretcher and softly touched the soldier's face. "Well, at least now we will see how the limb reproduction pre-infection works on you, my beautiful soldier." He turned to one of the guards. "Vá buscar C."

"C?" Jake mumbled to himself. Did C mean the C-Virus? They had known the president wasn't one to trust, but if he had been working with the C-Virus, he was the enemy. His thoughts were interrupted as he noticed that the guard sent after the C was actually walking into his direction. He yelped a bit and slipped into the room, hiding behind some shelves. He pulled out the test tube he had taken from the room before. "C-v2-Niv," he read again. "I wonder if that's what they're going to use."

He waited behind the shelf for the guard to come back with a dose of the substance, curious about what they would be doing to the man on the stretcher. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Hand on his pistol, he turned quickly, but relaxed when he saw who had been calling his attention.

"Sherry," he whispered. "What are you doing here?"

The blonde was in a white shirt, covered in blood and sweat. She put a finger onto her lips.

"I was helping with the injured," she said and pointed to the stretcher. "That one over there died right in front of me. Johnson was his name. He talked to me while he was dying, Jake. He told me his wife gave birth to their first child two days ago." Sherry's face was a mask of pain and regret as she spoke. It was somewhat funny. Sherry was a trained agent; taught to remain emotionless when it was needed, but there was that spark of humanity in her; something she surely hadn't learned from the government. Jake had once spoken to Leon about that trait of her and had been told that it was Claire's influence. Claire was the savior; the one whose fight was the rescue, not the destruction; and she had given that wish to Sherry. Jake took her hand and squeezed it.

"It's not your fault, Supergirl."

The blonde sobbed quietly. "I know that," she whispered. "I know; it's them. It's the fucking bioterror. It's our fathers' legacy; people playing with other people's lives." Sherry stopped sobbing as the guard came back with the syringe. "And with their bodies. Once Johnson was dead, a guard came and took him away. I followed him; I hid under the sheet right next to Johnson's corpse. They could have found me easily, but I had to take that risk."

Jake thumbed over her cheek. No matter how much of a savior there was in her, Sherry was still a badass agent and didn't flinch when it came to making tough choices. He felt a little proud of her, which was weird given the fact that he was several years younger than her. Jake smirked. Anyway, he could be happy to have someone like Sherry in his life.

Sherry wiped off a tear and turned her head towards the guards around the stretcher.

"What are they doing to him? Were they talking about the C Virus?" she asked, shaking her head doubtfully as Jake watched the guards fix the body to the stretcher with belts.

"I'm not sure," Jake whispered as he took out his pistol. "But I'm not going to wait until I find out."

"What are you going to do?" Sherry grabbed the barrel of his gun and jerked it away. "Don't do anything stupid, Jake. Let's wait and see."

The young mercenary was about to respond when the guards began to scream and bawl behind them. They turned and saw how the man on the stretcher began to quiver and convulse. Sherry squealed a bit at the repugnant image. Blood and sweat and sparks hit the guards around the man when he sat up, back straight, and a huge new arm-like limb grew out of his crippled shoulder. He screamed, the others awed; and then the subject hit those to his right with his newly grown, huge, horrifying arm directly in the chest. It rattled loudly as they were thrown to the floor. The guards on his left jumped onto the man; one holding his other arm, two others a leg; the last one looped his arms around the man's torso. He just jerked them off like insects.

As the guards withdrew in respect or fear, the president smiled satisfied and stepped towards the stretcher, putting his hand onto the man's forehead.

The creature calmed down immediately.

"Captaaaain," it groaned, at which the man rolled his eyes and huffed out a laugh.

"Muito bom," the president smirked and turned to one of the guards. "Levá-lo para o campo com os outros."

"What did he say?" Sherry asked, turning to Jake.

"He told them to leave it on the field," Jake hissed, "Is he really letting them out?"

Sherry shook her head in denial.

"But what for?"

The guards shot several tranquilizer darts at the subject until it collapsed onto the ground. They proceeded to bound it while the president watched almost in excitement.

"Perfeito," he said as he turned towards the guards. "Você sabe onde."

The guards pushed the subject onto the stretcher and out of the room.

Jake grabbed Sherry's wrist and pulled her after them.

XXXXX

Leon was watching the guards in front of the gate from the corner of the City Hall. If that was the South-eastern entrance the soldier had talked about, Jake was probably in there. The question was, how had he gotten inside?

"I just hope he hasn't done anything stupid," Leon mumbled to himself, but then he remembered Jake's usual, carefree attitude and started expecting the worst.

The guards stood completely still. He didn't know what exactly their orders were, but if it was to imitate statues, they were doing an extremely good job. Anyway, Leon needed to get in there somehow, but how would he get past the guards? He scanned the surroundings. Maybe he could have a better look from the opposite buildings. Night was already falling, if he was just quiet enough, the guards wouldn't see him in the shadows. Hoping that they hadn't some sort of night vision optics in their helmets, he sneaked to the other side of the street, careful not to be hit by the moonlight, as he jumped through the first open window he found.

If it was dark on the outside, the inside of that building looked like a black hole. The house was completely abandoned, mostly like the rest of the town, and it looked like someone had left it in a rush after packing only the most indispensable belongings. He even found something that looked like piece of rotten steak in a pan in the kitchen. It smelled awful. No…

Leon frowned when he noticed that it didn't just smell like month-old meat. He had lived this kind of experience too often not to recognize the particular stench of human flesh peeling off the muscles and bones. He turned around instantly when he heard the grunting behind him and intuitively drew his gun.

Zombies looked so much better with a hole in their head. Nobody would ever get to tell him he wasn't the best zombie slayer in the whole world - not even Chris Redfield. Although Chris had, as it seemed, a couple of months more experience with zombies than he had. The zombie dropped to the ground in front of him and Leon holstered his weapon, but it wasn't until he heard the sound of heavy boots on the ground that he understood his mistake. That was what Helena had meant when she'd told him that he went into action like the Terminator. Leon was the one who kicked open doors and ran into hordes of zombies without thinking much because, when it came to bioterror, thinking too much could mean death. He snorted a bit when he noticed that he had the same reckless attitude as Jake.

Before the guards could find him, he sneaked into the bedroom and, after checking if there were any more zombies in it, he crawled under the bed. The heavy footsteps came closer. Seemingly, there were four or five guards in the hallway, but they didn't speak a word. They didn't even growl, but after standing a while in the hall, they came straight into the bedroom and, as if they had smelled him, they walked towards the bed. Suddenly, the bed was simply thrown over as if a hurricane had grabbed it and four guards began to fire at him without hesitating.

It was again one of those times when he needed to act before thinking. Leon rolled to his side, avoiding being hit by the bullets.

"Stop shooting!" he yelled as he jumped to his feet. "I'm one of the sent agents. I can identify myself."

But the guards didn't stop. Leon had no other choice; he spun and kicked the gun out of one's hands; then he shot one other's hand and the guard dropped his weapon. They groaned softly, but didn't speak. The third one received such a strong kick in the guts he stumbled into the wall behind him; the fourth was simply overrun by Leon when he dashed out of the room and towards the exit.

He stopped in front of the door as another guard showed up, a grenade playfully dangling between two fingers.

XXXXX

Inacceptable. If Chris thought she was staying there with her arms crossed while Leon was risking his life all alone, he was wrong. She didn't particularly care about the council or the president himself. They had no right to make them stay in the City Hall like prisoners. When the shadows of twilight bathed the hall in darkness and Chris was distracted by one of his men, she sneaked out into the night and went to the other side of the building searching for the infamous South-eastern entrance they had been talking about.

There was, indeed something like an entrance, and it was unwatched. Claire approached the gates and was about to sneak into the building when the sound of gunfire reached her ears.

"Leon?" she whispered as she pulled out her gun and walked slowly towards the building on the opposite side of the street, where the gunshots came from. If I see you in trouble, I'm jumping in, she had told him, and that's what she was going to do; to jump in; to save him.

But before she could reach the building, a shockwave pushed her back as a loud explosion rolled and rumbled through the night. Bright flames stretched out of the windows and illuminated the night. Claire fell onto the ground and covered her face with her arms as wood and stone flew around her and everything smelled like fire, dust and blood. As soon as the flames above her had ceased, Claire turned back to the building and stared at the rest of the walls that were still standing, being consumed by fire.

"Leon," she whispered as she crawled onto her knees and got up to run into the burning ruins of the building. "Leon!"


End file.
